This salad is totally inspired by a recent meal at Loew’s Coronado. I had a watermelon and feta and arugula salad that was life changing (yes, it was that good) and I knew I’d be trying to make it as soon as I got home. But something remarkable happened. The next day at a local Art and Wine Festival in Coronado, I met the chef who created the salad recipe. When I told chef, Shawn Parcells, that I planned to recreate it at home, he gave me this award-winning tip. He said, “compress the watermelon”. I knew the watermelon was incredibly sweet and delicious, but it had never crossed my mind to compress it. I raced home (after a very relaxing couple of days…lol) and created this Compressed Watermelon, Feta and Arugula Salad with Jalapeno Dressing. Thank you, Shawn for the inspiration. If you’d like to read more about my weekend trip to Coronado, be sure to read A Weekend Getaway in Coronado, CA: Where to sleep & eat.
This is one of those dishes that makes a statement and your guests will never forget it. I think I got close to the original recipe, but my family loved yet. And yes, compressing watermelon is a “thing” and you won’t believe how easy it is to do.
HOW TO MAKE COMPRESSED WATERMELON
Compressed watermelon is nothing more than watermelon chunks that have been vacuum sealed. By packaging the watermelon and compressing it in a vacuum sealed bag, you are compressing all the juice and flavor and really concentrating the sweetness. It really is remarkable that such a simple technique can make such a big difference.
Following the instructions on your vacuum sealer, compress the watermelon chunks and let the bag sit in the refrigerator for at least two hours and up to overnight.
Then, when ready to assemble the salad, just remove from the pouch. How simple is that? Give compressed watermelon a try…you can thank me later!
The rest of this salad uses delicious ingredients and is super easy to pull together.
I’d start with making the dressing.
HOW TO MAKE THE JALAPENO DRESSING
I use a small food processor to whip everything together, but you could whisk by hand in a bowl (just be sure you mince the jalapeno really fine), or pop the ingredients into a blender. I prefer that the dressing is smooth and emulsified, so using the food processor or blender will get you that consistency. BTW, this honey lime vinaigrette would also be great on other salads and would make a great marinade for fish or chicken.
I don’t personally like a lot of heat, so I use one small jalapeno. But feel free to use as much of the pepper as you like. The spice is offset by the honey in the dressing and the sweetness of the fruit. You can make the jalapeno lime vinaigrette a day in advance and keep in a covered jar in the fridge until ready to use.
Once your watermelon is compressed and your jalapeno dressing is made, it is just a matter of assembling the salad.
Simply add two compressed watermelon chunks on each plate. Take each slice of Prosciutto and slice in half, then fold into each half into a neat bundle. Top each watermelon cube with a Prosciutto bundle. Add half the peach sections to each place. Note: you can also substitute nectarines for the peaches. Add half the feta cheese to each plate, top with half of the arugula on each plate and drizzle each salad with about 1 1/2 tablespoons – 2 tablespoons of the dressing. Serve and enjoy.
There will be salad dressing left over. Keep if covered in the refrigerator for up to a week. Use it on other salads or as a marinade for chicken or fish…so good!
Did you enjoy this salad? If so, please leave a comment below. Looking for other unique and tasty salads? Check out some of my favorites.
Healthy Creamy Chicken Caesar Salad or Two
Jicama, Apple, Carrot, and Shrimp Salad
Wheat Berry, Cherry & Pistachio Salad
Shrimp, Summer Corn and Tomato Salad
Poppyseed Pasta Salad with Chicken, Almonds & Cherries
Compressed Watermelon, Feta & Arugula Salad with Jalapeno Dressing
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Compressed Watermelon Chunks
- 1 Fresh peach or nectarine, pitted and sliced
- 1/4 Cup Low-fat Feta cheese, crumbled
- 1/2 Cup Baby arugula
- 2 Slices Prosciutto, each cut in half and folded into squares
DRESSING
- 2 tablespoons Lime juice
- 2 Tbsp. Apple cider vinegar
- 2 Tsp. Honey
- ¼ Cup Olive oil
- ¼ Tsp. Kosher salt
- 1-2 Small jalapeño peppers halved with stem and seeds removed
Instructions
- Start by compressing your watermelon. Take your watermelon and put it in a vacuum sealer bag and vacuum seal it. Let it sit in the refrigerator for at least two hours and up to overnight to let the flavors concentrate.
- Meanwhile, make your dressing. Add one pepper, lime juice, vinegar, honey, oil and salt to a blender. Puree the mixture until completely smooth.
- Taste the dressing and if you want more heat, add an addition ½ - 1 jalapeno pepper. Remember, you can always add more, it is just hard to remove the heat if you over do it. Adjust the number of peppers you use to your heat tolerance. Taste salt and honey and adjust if needed. This will keep in the fridge covered for days, and you will have extra so use it on salads, as a marinade for chicken or fish, and/or as a dip too. So good.
- Assemble your salad. Place the compressed watermelon on two plates. Place half the peaches on each plate around the watermelon, and sprinkle with the crumbled feta cheese. Lay folded prosciutto slices on top of the watermelon. Top with the arugula and drizzle the salad with the jalapeno dressing. Dig in and enjoy!
