Grilled Watermelon Salad

Since moving to France more than four years ago, I’ve developed a routine connecting me to home: my mother comes for her biannual trips in October and April, and I make the reverse journey home in December and August. It’s perfect, giving me a round-the-year look at what I’m missing, living so far away.

This year, however, I’m not going home in August: I’m already here. My baby sister graduated high school a few days ago, and so I changed my routine and made the trip so that the Westhampton I see is no longer the August one I’m used to, steaming hot and chock full of seasonal visitors, but the easy, early June one, the one I remember from my childhood, before everyone has arrived, when it’s just a handful of locals and the Main Street businesses haven’t all quite opened yet.

Instead of spending the entire day at the beach — if you’ve been keeping an eye on New York weather, you know it’s still a bit cold for that — I’ve been spending a lot of time writing… until Baby Sister decided to come keep me company in our big house on the beach. Naturally, with me at her side and the kitchen opened for our use, she decided to contribute something to the one dinner we shared alone, before the rest of the clan arrived: a grilled watermelon salad that she saw on Claire Robinson’s Food Network show.

It’s strange to see how much of someone’s personality shines through in the kitchen. My sister is exacting and meticulous: she follows recipes to the letter. I never have cup measures on hand; she timed the grilling of the watermelon. What’s expecially interesting is how well things turn out, no matter which method you use. While I was busy cooking salmon “until it’s done,” she was plating this gorgeous salad with chèvre and watermelon.

While she would have prefered the salad cold (i.e. without grilling the watermelon), I liked it this way. I’ve made a similar salad, cold, with feta, so I can vouch for the cold variety, though the grill marks on this version are beautiful. Whichever way you slice it,  baby sister knows how to cook… and I’m glad to have witnessed it for myself.

Grilled Watermelon Salad (recipe from Claire Robinson’s 5 Ingredient Fix)

1/2 (5-pound) seedless watermelon
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
Extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt (specialty salt is great here, if on hand)
2 cups fresh baby arugula, washed and dried
1 cup goat cheese, crumbled, preferably a French Chevre
Fresh finely cracked black pepper

Stand the watermelon half cut side down on a cutting board and slice away the rind, leaving a solid block of melon. Turn the block on its side and cut it into 8 squares, roughly 3 by 3 inches and 1-inch thick.

Pour the vinegar into a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Cook until reduced to a thick syrup consistency. Set aside.

Heat a nonstick grill pan over medium-high heat. Drizzle just enough olive oil over watermelon slices to thinly coat and place on hot grill pan. Grill each side about 2 minutes until grill marks appear; transfer to a plate and season with salt.

To assemble the salads, put about 1/4 cup of baby arugula on a serving plate, followed by a grilled slice of watermelon in the center, and top with a tablespoon of crumbled cheese and another 1/4 cup arugula. Add another watermelon slice and another tablespoon of cheese. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Finish each salad with a very light drizzle of olive oil and balsamic syrup. Dust with black pepper and serve immediately.