Grilled Watermelon Salad

My attempt at a sweet and savory salad that looks pretty.

Easily the douchiest recipe in the list. I saw a Reel that talked about grilling fruit and the sugars caramelizing. This was my attempt at thinking that would be tasty.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Trim melon into square "steaks" between 1/2 and 1 inch thick
    Watermelon trimmed into square shape
    Watermelon trimmed into square shape
  2. De-seed then marinate the watermelon in honey while preparing the other ingredients. I put the melon in a sandwich bag with the honey.
    Watermelon in sandwich bag with honey next to chopped mint
    Watermelon in sandwich bag with honey next to chopped mint
  3. Bring the balsamic vinegar to a simmer in a small saucepan. It should not boil and should be taken off direct heat when it starts to foam, otherwise it will become too thick.
  4. Grill the watermelon briefly. This can char easily due to the amount of water so it only needs a brief time on medium heat to carmelize some of the sugars.
  5. Trim ends off beets and half the golden cherry tomatoes
  6. Assemble and dress the salad. I started with a bed of arugula and added some goat cheese and pine nuts to the plate. I then put the halved golden sweet tomatoes and beets on the salad and beside the arugula. Once cooled, the watermelon "steak" was placed on the salad and chopped mint was placed on top. Add more goat cheese to the watermelon and salad and garnish with mint. Drizzle with balsamic reduction.

I reduced the balsamic a bit too long and it hardened as it cooled. Next time I make this, I will reduce the balsamic on a lower heat and/or for less time or use my vinaigrette.

Finished product:

Assembled salad
Assembled Salad