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!
http://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!
Rachel
Can I make this with regular sesame seeds instead of black? Debating a run to the store because I forgot them! Thamks.
Michelle
A lot of people don’t think about using watermelon in a salad, but it actually tastes amazing, especially with the right dressing. Love the edamame addition too.
Alice @ The Kitchen Smiths
Ha, I laughed a little at your ‘pros and cons’. It is true though! But there is something so satisfying about a fresh, light salad in hot weather (it actually gets a bit hot, sometimes, here in the UK). This recipe sounds so lovely and refreshing – might have to give it a go! x
Lauren
Oh I made this the moment I saw it, I surprisingly had all ingredients on hand…and bam! It was super tasty and fresh :)
Laura (Tutti Dolci)
gorgeous, this salad is just what i need!
crystal
This looks amazing and perfect for a summer day. I just got a huge watermelon today and this isa perfect way to use it up. Thanks for sharing this tasty recipe.
Angel Luis
Wow. This sounds great!. I definitely should try it.
Medha @ Whisk & Shout
These photos are stunning! I just discovered edamame (I knew it was popular, but I’d never tried it until I bought a huge bag recently) so I can’t wait to try this :) Yummy!
Abby
Saw the recipe in my email this morning, dreamt about it this afternoon, and made it for dinner tonight. Discovered that it is THE perfect cure for a sore strep throat. The truth. Maybe you should rename it ;) Thanks for the delicious recipe!!
cathyahh
This looks so delicious and refreshing! :) And crisp!
Eileen
Such a beautiful and different salad! I love the watermelon — fruit in savory salad has really been on my radar this summer. :)
Kate
Hmm, looks amazing. X
Kate | A British Sparkle
shelly
HELLOOO this looks delicious.its too hot for the oven. even in Ohio.
Julie @julieskitchen
Dang! This Joy the Baker x Lemonade summer salad looks delicious and I love that it makes enough dressing for the whole week. I can see that sesame vin working magic on lots of salads.
Natalie @ Paper & Birch
Great summer salad Joy! Love the edamame addition :)
Tiffany D.
Hahahah pros and cons… Love it!
sundiegoeats
Amazing salad. And the first watermelon salad I’ve seen that doesn’t have feta in it too :)
Ella
Oh my GOSH this looks so deliciously fresh! We are so making this next week. Thank you for sharing, Joy! Can’t wait to see how sesame and watermelon play together :)
http://www.youtube.com/sparklesandsuch26
Taylor
Well, now I just want to make a salad with melted butter and chocolate. (oh, and this one because it sounds delicious!)
xoxo
Taylor
Katherine | Gathered Heart
Oh my gosh yes, let’s get on that.
Bobbi
My mouth is watering… I’m making that salad! I don’t care that my husband doesn’t like watermelon. I suppose he could eat it without the juicy, sweet fruit. :)
Girl Named Allyn
Gwyneth would definitely consider approving, though brace yourself for a conscious uncoupling if you use the wrong dijon mustard.
joythebaker
hahahahha!
jenna @ justjfaye.com
I love everything about this salad – sweet fruit & greens are the best – and will be making it soon!!
DessertForTwo
Yowza! That’s one hot salad. Speaking of Cali…are you finding the Southern gentleman nicer? (no offense to Cali at all…I married a SoCal guy) The minute you announced you were moving, all I could think of was ‘dang, some Southern gentleman is going to snap her up! She’s gorgeous, she cooks, she’s fun, what a catch!’ Am I prodding? Sorry, I don’t mean to!
ps Don’t feed this salad to Southern men ;) Feed it to me instead :)
xoxoox
joythebaker
i can not see a proper southern man eating this salad unless he were being polite. even then though…
Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar
There are so many neat flavours in here Joy!! Love this!
Rachel
Oh Joy, I was totally in the mood for an L.A. salad too, and I think I have the ingredients for this – thank you! And I’m glad you like the Lemonade book – it is in my Amazon basket, but I’ve wanted to hear that someone liked it before I pressed purchase!
joythebaker
i think you’ll like the cookbook. lots of very California foods! just great inspiration in general! also HI!
Rachel
okay, so you and izy (top with cinnamon) have your books coming out within a month of each other so i’m going to have to throw lemonade in with that order. i always feel like i’m spending less on cookbooks when they come in the same delivery and i’m only hitting purchase once!
and also hi!!
Erin | The Law Student's Wife
Joy, were you watching last night when I ate an large and irregular section of the French silk pie in my fridge directly from the dish? This salad is exactly what I need to bring life back to equilibrium. Thanks!
joythebaker
i did see that… no judgements.
Kathryn
I definitely think there’s a certain style of Californian salad that is so hard to find anywhere else – this one totally fits the bill. It sounds so bright and fresh!
Belinda Lo (Moonblush Baker)
So down with having salad cravings; I am a mad vinaigrette based salads most of all. Simple, sweet, crunchy and fresh; it is hard not to feel good.
Averie @ Averie Cooks
I love everything about this salad from the sesame vinaigrette to the snap peas (I can down one of those bags of them from TJs in a day by myself), edamame and watermelon! And the dressing is just a shake-it kind, no fancy whisking and whipping required. Love your salad and Tracy’s today! pinned
Todd
Joy the Salader strikes again..never had watermelon and snap peas together before, but you make it look as perfect as can be..