This is a four-ingredient summer salad โ baby spinach, watermelon, sheepโs milk feta, and toasted sunflower seeds โ pulled together with a simple lemon-garlic dressing. It comes together in 20 minutes and the contrast of sweet, salty, and crunchy is genuinely hard to mess up. It works as a light lunch or a side dish next to anything grilled.
Before you start
The two things that actually matter here are toasting the sunflower seeds and managing moisture. Raw sunflower seeds taste flat and slightly bitter straight from the bag โ a few minutes in a dry pan over medium heat turns them nutty and gives the salad the crunch it needs. Moisture is the other issue: watermelon releases juice the moment itโs cut, and that juice will pool at the bottom of the bowl and dilute your dressing. Pat the watermelon pieces dry with a paper towel before adding them to the bowl, and dress the salad right before serving โ dress it at the table, not in the kitchen, because a pre-dressed salad goes limp fast.
Common problems and fixes
- Sunflower seeds burn before they brown: Medium heat, not medium-high. The seeds go from pale to scorched quickly. Stay at the stove and keep the pan moving โ donโt walk away.
- Dressing tastes sharp or flat: The garlic-salt paste is the base, and it needs the lemon juice added gradually. Taste the dressing before it goes on the salad. If itโs too sharp, a small drizzle more of olive oil smooths it out. If it tastes flat, add a pinch more salt.
- Feta turns the whole salad salty: Feta packed in brine is saltier than the dry-crumbled kind. Rinse the feta briefly under cold water and pat it dry before adding it. This takes the edge off without losing the flavor.
- Spinach wilts under the dressing: Baby spinach is delicate. Add the dressing in two stages โ half first, toss, then assess. You want the leaves lightly coated, not soaked.
- Garlic paste is lumpy: Use the flat side of a knife to press and smear the crushed garlic into the salt on a cutting board before adding it to the bowl. This breaks it down into a smooth paste that distributes evenly through the dressing.
Ingredient notes
- Sheepโs milk feta in brine: This is the best choice here โ itโs creamier and less crumbly than the pre-crumbled cowโs milk version sold in most grocery stores. Look for it in the specialty cheese section, often in a small tub of liquid. If you can only find standard crumbled feta, it still works, just use a little less of it.
- Raw unsalted sunflower seeds: The recipe calls for raw, not pre-roasted. Pre-roasted seeds are often salted, which throws off the seasoning balance, and they can taste stale after a second round of heat. Buy raw from the bulk section or baking aisle.
- Honey: Listed as optional, but it genuinely helps if your lemon is very tart. A single teaspoon rounds out the dressing without making it sweet.
Keeping it fresh
This salad does not store well once assembled โ the watermelon keeps releasing juice and the spinach goes soft within an hour. If you want to get ahead, prep the components separately: toast the seeds and let them cool completely, then store them in a small airtight container at room temperature for up to three days; cut the watermelon and refrigerate it in a sealed container for up to 24 hours; mix the dressing and keep it in a jar in the fridge for up to three days (shake well before using). Keep the spinach in its original bag until youโre ready to build the salad. Assemble everything just before you plan to eat it.
Delightful Watermelon And Feta Salad With Raw Sunflower Seeds
Ingredients
- 4 cups baby spinach loosely packed, fresh
- 2 cups watermelon bite-size pieces
- 5 ounces feta cheese preferably sheep's milk and in a brine, cut or crumbled into bite-size pieces
- ยฝ cup sunflower seeds raw unsalted
- 1 clove garlic crushed
- ยฝ teaspoon salt
- 1 medium lemon
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon honey optional
- 1 pinch ground black pepper fresh ground, to taste
Instructions
- Toast the sunflower seeds in a small pan on medium heat until they are golden in color and fragrant, shaking the pan frequently to prevent burning. No butter or oil is needed to toast them.
- Combine the spinach, watermelon, feta and toasted sunflower seeds in a large bowl.
- In a small bowl, combine the salt and crushed garlic until they are mixed together to make a paste.
- Juice the lemon and pour the lemon juice over the garlic and salt paste.
- Add the olive oil and honey to the lemon juice mixture and mix or shake well until combined.
- Pour half of the salad dressing over the salad; and toss well.
- Add more dressing if needed so that the salad is well-coated but not overly-moist. The watermelon also adds moisture to the salad, so be careful not to use too much dressing. You can reserve the remainder of the salad dressing for another day.
- Serve immediately. Grind black pepper over the salad after it is plated.
Nutrition
Frequently asked questions
Can I use regular feta instead of sheepโs milk feta?
Yes, regular cowโs milk feta works fine. Itโs a bit firmer and saltier than sheepโs milk feta, so rinse it briefly and taste your dressing before adding extra salt.
How do I know when the sunflower seeds are done toasting?
Pull them off the heat when theyโre golden and smell nutty โ that usually takes 4 to 6 minutes over medium heat. They continue to cook slightly from residual heat after you take them off the pan, so donโt wait until they look dark.
Can I make the dressing without a garlic press?
Yes โ mince the garlic as finely as you can with a knife, then use the flat side of the blade to smear it against the cutting board with the salt until it forms a rough paste. It takes about 30 seconds and works just as well as a press.