A Watermelon Goat Cheese Salad with contrasting flavors and textures of crisp, sweet melon laid over a bed of leafy greens mixed with a flavorful Balsamic Honey vinaigrette and topped with creamy, tangy goat cheese.
Plate your watermelon salad with your favorite baked or grilled chicken to make it a complete meal.
Watermelon Goat Cheese Salad
Wow, doesn’t that melon look rip and juicy. You need 1 ripe and sweet watermelon, cubed at desired size, 5-7 pieces per salad plate. You will use between 1/4 and 1/2 of the melon. It all depends on how many plates you will be serving.
For The Salad
4 cups watermelon, without seeds, diced, 1/2-inch chunks
1 shaved fennel bulb set in ice water to crisp
1/8 cup toasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped
3 1/2 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
1 cup mix leafy greens
Learn More Here – Cooking With Goat Cheese
For The Vinaigrette
1/2 shallot, minced
5 chive stems, finely chopped
3 basil leaves, finely sliced
4 teaspoons raw honey
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3/4 cup olive oil
Add to a salad dressing shaker or small mason jar, olive oil, shallots, chives, basil, honey, balsamic, salt and pepper to taste. Place lid and tighten, shake vigorously until combined. Set aside.
Read More Here – Do You Need To Refrigerate Your Homemade Vinaigrette?
Place about 8 ice cubes into a pie dish and about 1.5 to 2 cups of water. Next remove the green top from the fennel and shave the bulb allowing the shaved parts to fall into the ice water to crisp the shavings for 10-15 minutes.
Roughly chop hazelnuts. Set aside.
Remove fennel shavings from ice water, allowing water to drain off, and place into a large salad bowl.
Next, add mixed greens, chopped hazelnuts, and 2 tablespoons of the vinaigrette. Toss until the fennel, leafy greens and hazelnuts are coated well.
Plate the leafy greens mixture. Place 5-7 cubed watermelon pieces on salad mix. Top with 1-2 teaspoons of crumbled goat cheese and drizzled with more vinaigrette.
If you desire to add meat to this salad, cook up 12 to 16 oz. of pork bacon; but not crispy. Cut each strip into 5 or 6 slices. Top the bacon after adding watermelon and then top with goat cheese.
The Watermelon Goat Cheese Salad also serves well with baked or grilled chicken.
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