A refreshing, salad with pickled ginger and a fantastic snack for a crowd or as a side

Fancy a refreshing salad and side dish? Then try this watermelon salad and giant marinated butter beans.

Watermelon is the perfect fruit to have during the summer months.

It’s so refreshing and has a lovely sweet flavour.

And when you’ve got a bit of a crowd, watermelon is fantastic for serving up as a simple, tasty salad.

Another one of my other favourite salads is watermelon, tomato and feta.

With this watermelon salad, the pickled ginger gives a lovely sharpness (a bit like feta does on the other version).

And if you’re also looking for a simple side or even a snack to go along with the watermelon salad.

Then this vinegar marinated butter bean dish is a winner.

IN my household, we’ve been using it as a side dish.

And I was expecting my hubby to not be a fan of it.

But to my surprise, he really loved this simple dish.

And again, it has a nice sharpness to it which works well with the soft creamy butter beans.

If you can find giant butter beans, then this will make it even better.

Watermelon salad and giant butter beans recipes

Try these two fantastic summer recipes and add them to your summer recipe repertoire.

Zingy and refreshing, these quick and easy recipes will set you up for some good al fresco dining.

1. Vinegar marinated giant butter beans

  • SERVES: 6 people
  • PREP TIME: 5 mins
  • DIFFICULTY: easy
Vinegar marinated giant butter beans

Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 2 tins (giant) butter beans or lima, drained and rinsed
  • 1 small garlic clove, minced
  • sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1⁄2 cup red wine vinegar or white wine vinegar
  • Freshly grated lemon zest

Directions

  1. Heat the olive oil in a small pot over medium heat.
  2. Add the beans and garlic and season with salt and pepper.
  3. Cook a minute or two, just to warm them through.
  4. Remove from the heat and add the vinegar and combine.
  5. Leave for at least 30 mins.
  6. Place in a bowl and season with some black pepper and lemon zest.
  7. Tip: if you are entertaining you can make this a day or two ahead.
  8. Just over and put in the fridge.

Recipe from: Nothing Fancy

2, Watermelon and pickled ginger

This is a super refreshing salad to have alongside any meal.

But goes very well with pork as it cuts through that richness.

Watermelon and pickled ginger salad
  • SERVES: 4 – 6 people
  • PREP TIME: 5 mins
  • DIFFICULTY: easy

Ingredients

  • 200 g fresh ginger, peeled and julienned
  • ½ cup demerara sugar
  • 1 cup rice wine vinegar (sub. in white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar)
  • 1 kg watermelon, chopped into 2 – 3 cm chunks
  • ½ bunch Thai basil or sub. in normal basil
  • 2 tbsp fermented salted black beans – don’t worry if you can’t find any
  • black and white sesame seeds to sprinkle over – don’t worry if you can’t find black sesame seeds

Method

  1. In a small pan over low heat, dissolve the sugar in the vinegar.
  2. Put the ginger in a small bowl and pour the pickling liquid (the sugar and vinegar), over the ginger and leave for a least an hour.
  3. Cut the watermelon into small pieces and add to a bowl with the black beans and 2 tbsp of the pickling liquid.
  4. Place the watermelon on a serving dish then scatter over some of the ginger, basil leaves, and sesame seeds (and a little more pickling liquid if you like).
  5. Serve.

Recipe by: Black Axe Mangal