I’m in need of a California salad. The kind that’s heavy on the green, unique, full of protein and surprises, and just generally sexy. The kind of salad that would wear super expensive yoga pants… if a salad could wear yoga pants (because that totally makes sense). The kind of salad that Gwyneth Paltrow would order if she were slumming it. You know the stuff.
That’s exactly the sort of salad I’ve been craving.
Besides… I’ve had a watermelon on the counter staring me down and this week I’ve found the perfect combination of hunger, energy, and guilt to actually slice into it.
Come on, let’s salad!
This recipe is inspired by The Lemonade Cookbook. Loads of great sandwich, salad, and well… lemonade inspiration in this super fresh, California cuisine book.
I love combining greens and sweet fruit in the summer. It’s pretty amazing that watermelon and onions can find their way into a dish together and work as a team, right?
Salads are fun because we don’t have to wait for them to come out of the oven and cool before we gobble them down. On the other hand… they aren’t full of butter and melted chocolate. So… well, pros and cons. Pros and cons.
Sesame Vinaigrette first! This dressing is shaken in a small mason jar.
We’re talking seasoned rice vinegar, garlic, sesame seeds, sesame oil, and mustard. An aggressive shake in the jar and we have mondo flavor for our salad!
In the bowl!
Sugar snap peas are raw, crisp and slightly sweet in this salad. Shelled edamame is tender and packed with protein. Spinach for our green fix. Chives and shallots for easy onion flavor. Sweet, crisp, juicy watermelon, too! It’s weird and it totally works.
In other salad considerations:
Sesame Kale Salad with Roasted Almonds
Spinach and Strawberry Chopped Salad
Avocado Grapefruit Edamame Salad
Snap Pea, Watermelon, and Edamame Salad with Sesame Vinaigrette
serves 2
adapted from The Lemonade Cookbook
For the Salad:
1/2 pound sugar snap peas, ends trimmed and sliced
2 cups shelled edamame, thawed from frozen by rinsing under warm water
2 cups cubed fresh watermelon
1 cup finely chopped spinach
3 tablespoons minced shallots
3 tablespoons finely chopped chives
1 tablespoon black sesame seeds
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
For the Dressing:
1/2 cup seasoned rice vinegar
1 tablespoon black sesame seeds
1 small clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 cup canola oil
2 tablespoons sesame oil
pinch of salt and 1/4 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
First assemble the salad. In a large bowl, combine chopped snap peas, edamame, watermelon, spinach, and shallots. Toss lightly to combine. Sprinkle chives, sesame seeds, salt and pepper over the salad and set aside.
To make the dressing, in a medium mason jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine vinegar, sesame seeds, garlic, mustard, soy sauce, canola oil, and sesame oil. Add salt and pepper. Place the lid on the mason jar and shake vigorously until mixture is emulsified, about 2 minutes. Taste and season with a bit more salt and pepper as necessary.
Pour about 1/3 cup of the well shaken salad dressing over the prepared salad. Toss to combine. Add as much dressing as you’d like In my experience, the dressing makes enough for two salads and can be stored in the mason jar in the refrigerator for up to one week.
Enjoy the dressed salad immediately.
Kim in Silicon Valley
Sweet, salty, crunchy, juicy. Loved this.
Ashley M.
Made this for lunch today and it was delicious. Light and refreshing on a hot summer day. I’ll definitely make this again in the future. Thank you!
Nicole
I just made this for dinner tonight… The perfect summer meal for a 100 degree day in Austin! Delicious recipe, Joy.
Ella
Joy! I made this tonight as a refreshing summer salad for my family and it was WONDERFUL! There weren’t any sugar snap peas at the store so we used snow peas (they were great with the sesame/asian flavors). Also used about half of the oil called for (we’re really sensitive to oily food over here!) and it was just the right amount. The tang of the dressing was an amazing combo with the juicy sweetness of the watermelon. We used fresh spinach and chives from our veggie garden! Thank you so much for the recipe, we will definitely make it again!
https://www.youtube.com/sparklesandsuch26
Tashiana
Mouth watering pictures! I am craving something green now :(
Janelle - fchem101.com
This looks great! I’m eating fruit in all sorts of savory things lately and loving it. So far a sandwich with goat cheese, arugula, and peaches is the winner, but this might take over!