Watermelon Salad with Pickled Onions and Feta

Now, keep an open mind here....don't let those pickled onions turn you away. Golda shared this salad at Creative Cooking and we all thought it was nummy. She got it from a Cooking Light magazine and she also mentioned it is a great salad that you can picnic with and not worry about the mayo turning bad (since there is none.) The paragraph describing the salad said "the sharpness of the pickled onions offers a pleasing contrast to crisp, juicy watermelon and salty, creamy feta cheese." Golda actually soaks her feta in milk to take away a little of feta's strong flavor (I actually love feta just the way it is...)

Watermelon Salad with Pickled Onions and Feta

1 cup vertically sliced red onion

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1/4 tsp. kosher salt

1 1/2 T. white balsamic vinegar

1 T. extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

2 1/2 cups cubed seedless watermelon

1 small cucumber, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced (about 1 cup)

1/4 (1 ounce) crumbled feta cheese

2 T. chopped fresh mint

2 T. chopped fresh basil

Combine first 3 ingredients in a small bowl, and let stand for 30 minutes. Drain.

Combine balsamic vinegar, oil and pepper in a large bowl; stir well with a whisk. Add onion mixture, watermelon, and cucumber; toss gently to coat. Arrange watermelon mixture on a platter. Top with cheese, mint, and basil. Yield: 6 servings

(Golda also marinates her cucumbers in Brianna's Raspberry Blush vinaigrette just so they also have a great tang.)