Watermelons remind me of summer, fun and my old hometown in the Bushveld. Each year we would have a water melon fight fun day in January at school. We would eat loads of watermelon and of course we would have a BIG watermelon fight between the girls and the boys!
We were told that watermelons are very fattening and only consist of sugar and water. Watermelons also contained loads of seeds and as a child we were told that if you swallow a seed a watermelon will grow out of your ear! It was a very scary thought for most children so we were very careful not to swallow the seeds.
Research has now proven that watermelons are very healthy since it is high in lycopene. Lycopene is important for our cardiovascular health, and an increasing number of scientists now believe that lycopene is important for bone health as well. The lycopene in watermelon is an inhibitor of many inflammatory processes and it is also an excellent antioxidant. To read more about the nutritional value of watermelons go here.
This melon salad combines watermelon with spanspek (an orange melon). It is a refreshing side dish to a roast or at a braai. Add some cooked prawns and serve as a starter.
- 600g cubed watermelon
- 600g cubed spanspek
- 3 spring onions, diced
- 125g feta cheese, diced
- Juice and zest of 2 lemons
- fresh coriander leaves
- fresh mint leaves
- 15ml dried chilli flakes
- Place the watermelon, spanspek, spring onions and feta in a salad bowl.
- Add the lemon zest and mix carefully.
- Drizzle with the lemon juice.
- Garnish with fresh mint and coriander leaves.
- Finally sprinkle the chilli flakes over and serve.
This looks so delicious, PPD. I’m definitely going to try it. 🙂
I have made a variation of this using lime juice – so good and refreshing! Yours looks stunning. I love juicing the watermelon, seeds and all 🙂