This simple yet unusual delicious, refreshing watermelon salad recipe is high in nutrients and it's easy to assemble. You'll love its sweet & crunchiness combination, tossed together in homemade balsamic vinaigrette.
Summer or not darling, you'll love this watermelon salad with pumpkin flowers!
It's November over here, and I am lucky to have some pumpkin flowers in my balcony garden!
I love salads, and they are the most meals I prefer making because of how easy and time-saving they can be.
We do love this watermelon salad for its sweet flavor, crunchy texture, and it's super fresh.
It's full of healing properties that your body will appreciate besides leaving you satiated for hours. It's a perfect salad to eat in the evening, it'll help you shed off some weight!
For the pumpkin flowers, if you are growing some pumpkins then you're lucky. Otherwise, you can find these goodies in supermarkets or farmer's markets.
Pumpkin flowers have an earthy, not strong flavor and are delicate to handle and store, they wither very fast, so plan ahead of time when you want to include them in your salads.
They are a good source of vitamin A and B9.
How do you prepare pumpkin flowers to eat?
- If getting them directly from a plant, cut the base flower using a pair of scissors. (you can choose between female & male flowers, but that a story of another day lol)
- Check for insects.
- If they are store-bought, remove them from the packet.
- Put the flowers in a bowl of fresh cold water to rinse them. Don't rub or manipulate the flowers.
- Remove from the water and put them on a kitchen towel.
- I only eat my pumpkin flowers raw, so go ahead, gently cut them into pieces to add to your already cooked food or salad.
How to choose a watermelon
How do you know if a watermelon is ripe or how do you pick the best variety? Well lovely, let me help you with that.
- There are 300 varieties grown in America and South America, that's a good picture of how many varieties you can get from where you are.
- Mostly watermelons are grouped according to shape, size, whether they have seeds or not, and their color.
- Choose a watermelon that's regular in shape, with no bumps or cuts.
- Pick one that's heavy for its size (meaning if it's a small melon, it should be heavy when you hold it) this is a sign of sweetness and much juice.
- Rounded watermelon is sweeter while the oval-shaped are watery.
- If a watermelon has an orange base it means it stayed in the field for a longer time, therefore, it has more flavor than the white base.
- Watermelon is ripe when it has deep dark green color, unripe watermelon is shiny.
Can watermelon salad be made ahead of time?
- Sometimes you might wish to facilitate your work and prepare watermelon salad ahead of time,
- However, this can lead to the degradation of vitamins. The other point to consider is watermelon and cucumber will give out their juice, flooding the salad.
- This will alter the textures and flavor of the salad.
- I'd suggest you prepare the ingredients individually, store them in your fridge, and compose the salad when you're ready to eat it.
Alternatives for this watermelon salad
- This watermelon salad has millet, which you can replace with quinoa, barley, or brown rice.
- I used sunflower seeds, which can be replaced by pumpkin seeds or nuts of your choice.
- Use cilantro, mint, or other fresh herbs to replace parsley.
- If you can't get black sesame, go for the classic one.
I wish you'll love this salad as we do, and if you do please let me know by leaving a comment here below.
Have a look at these watermelon and cucumber salads.
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You'll love this watermelon salad with pumpkin flowers
Equipment
- Chopping board
- Sharp knife
- Large salad bowl
- Salad spoons
Ingredients
- 1 cup leftover cold millet
- 2 cups small zucchinis diced
- 2 cups small-medium English cucumber diced
- 2-3 cups small melon peeled & diced
- 4-6 fresh pumpkin flowers
- ½ cup roasted sunflower seeds
- 1-2 tablespoons black sesame
- 1 cup parsley chopped
Balsamic Vinaigrette
- 4 tablespoon cold-pressed olive oil
- 3 tablespoon non-sugared balsamic vinegar
- ½ teaspoon pinch of salt
Instructions
Make the balsamic vinaigrette
- Put all the ingredients in a small jar, close it tightly, and shake vigorously to mix. You can instead use a small blender to blend.
Assemble the watermelon salad
- In a large salad bowl, bring all the ingredients following their order on the ingredients list above
- Pour the balsamic vinaigrette all over the bowl with ingredients
- Using salad spoons, gently mix the ingredients together to make this delicious watermelon salad
- Slice the pumpkin flowers, spread them on top of the salad. Only mix them in the salad when you are about to serve this salad.
- This salad is high in nutrients on its own, you can serve it alone.
Notes
- You can roast your sunflower seeds by either pan roasting them in a pan on the top cooker/stovetop or in an oven. Roast them way before to let them cool. Time is not included in this recipe.
- Choose very fresh and small zucchini as they are sweeter than matured ones
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