Here’s a fun recipe that I learned recently from my friend Connie – watermelon salsa. This recipe gives a refreshing spin on salsa during the hot days of summer and you can make it festive by serving it in a watermelon rind bowl.
Sunday I made the salsa with as many veggies from my garden as possible and then my family enjoyed the salsa on top of grilled halibut tacos. It paired so nicely with the fish and was very delicious with corn chips as well. I think it would also taste great on burgers, grilled chicken or pork.
This might be a great recipe to try for upcoming Labor Day parties, so get ready to start chopping!
Watermelon Salsa Recipe
Ingredients
1 personal sized or mini watermelon, (to be used as the bowl)
1 cup diced watermelon
1 cup diced cucumbers
1 cup diced bell peppers, (any combination of green, orange, yellow or red peppers)
1/2 cup diced red onion
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
2 tbsp lime juice (I used the juice of one lime)
1 tbsp diced jalapenos, (optional – add more for additional heat)
¼ cup of fresh chopped basil (optional, but I love basil and watermelon together)
⅓ cup of chopped mango (also optional, but again, I love mango and watermelon together)
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
Instructions
Lay the watermelon on its side and cut the top 1/4 to 1/3 off.
Cut slices into the flesh of the watermelon in a crosshatch pattern without going through the rind.
Make a cut all of the way around the watermelon between the flesh and the rind.
Scoop out the watermelon slices and set them aside on a cutting board.
Hollow out the rest of the watermelon and dump out the juice so that it can be used as a bowl.
Dice enough watermelon to measure one cup. Save the remaining watermelon for another use.
Put the diced watermelon in a bowl and add the cucumbers, peppers, onions, cilantro, basil, jalapenos, mango, lime juice, salt, and black pepper.
Mix everything together and taste the salsa. Add additional lime juice, salt, and black pepper, if needed.
Scoop the watermelon salsa into the hollowed out watermelon bowl. Serve the watermelon salsa directly from the watermelon bowl.