Watermelon, Beet and Barley Salad
For the first few years after college I didn’t have a car. Having a car can often be a pain, but not as big of a pain as grocery shopping without a car, let me tell you… When you have to car-less grocery shop you are put in quite the conundrum because you want to grocery shop as little as possible since it is such a pain, BUT you can only carry so many groceries. Grocery shopping back in my car-less days had me constantly overestimating my strength…
The most memorable of these grocery trips was during the first living in Arlington. I lived about a half mile walk from a Giant. It was a hot, sticky summer day as they tend to be here. I went to the store for “a few things” and of course ended up with more than I had planned + a watermelon… WHY?
People were staring as I made the trek back to my apartment fumbling along with what felt like a 25 pound watermelon. I had to take multiple breaks, where I set the watermelon down on the sidewalk so I could rest. If Uber existed back then I would have been tempted to request one to take me the few blocks home. I remember promising myself no matter how good of a deal a watermelon was I would NEVER do this again. Seriously, even if it was free I wasn’t going to give in. I’m pretty sure I called my mom as soon as I finally made it home to whine about how hard life was in the “real world”. Ha!
Luckily my car-less grocery shopping days are over and I can have watermelon whenever I want! I love watermelon in any form, but I really love it in savory dishes. Like this Watermelon, Beet & Barley Salad! A ripe watermelon, paired with roasted beets, barley, feta and mint! It’s a perfect salad for a hot summer day! Make ahead is the name of the game with this salad, the flavor gets better as it sits and marinates in it’s delicious sweet and savory juices!
Watermelon, Beet & Barley Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cups watermelon, cut into 1 inch cubes
- 1 cup roasted beets, cut into 1 inch cubes
- 1 cup cooked barley
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 2 tbsps fresh mint
- 1/2 cup feta cheese
Instructions
- In a medium sized bowl mix together watermelon, beets and barley
- In a small bowl whisk together lemon juice, olive oil and sea salt
- Pour olive oil mixture over watermelon mixture, toss
- Add half of the mint and half of the feta, mix
- Refrigerate salad and let marinate for at least 3 hours before serving
- Serve and top with remaining mix mint and feta
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