This salsa says poolside snack, it screams early summer barbecue appetizer, it cools me off just to look at it, and it happens to be one of my favorite weekend recipes in the summertime!
Culinarily speaking, this Watermelon Cucumber Salsa is the best, most delicious way to celebrate summer!
And today is the first official day of summer — June 22! (To be honest, I guess I celebrated yesterday! ;-))
This salsa is incredibly versatile, too! It’s divine over fish, shellfish, chicken, rice, on a tortilla chip, or even as a light summer side dish!
I’m also celebrating the first day of summer by taking my boys to the beach! How are you bringing in Summer 2012? What foods feel like summer to you? I want to know, so please tell me in the comments!
Recipe
2 cups watermelon, cut into a small dice (about 1/8 to 1/4-inch)
1 cup cucumber, peeled, and cut into a small dice (about 1/8 to 1/4-inch) -- use the outer portion without the seeds
1/3 cup finely chopped scallions, white and green portions (about 2 scallions)
1/4 cup finely chopped, fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons very finely chopped jalapeño, seeds removed
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (depending on how much heat you like)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- Gently combine all of the ingredients together in a medium-sized mixing bowl. That's it!
- Keep the salsa covered in the refrigerator until you're ready to serve!
Notes
The fresher the better -- however if you want to make it a few hours ahead of time, save the lime juice, sugar, cayenne, and salt to add just before you're ready to serve.
If you can find red jalapeños, they add even more beauty to this colorful salsa!
Oooh…I have all the ingredients, including yellow cukes. That would look pretty along with the green ones!
Adair, ooh I love yellow cucumbers!
try it with feta cheese crumbles!
: )
This really is a great cold soup recipe, it was dinner tonight because of our 97 degree weather. I served it with a bowl of chilled old bay seasoned shrimp.
Indian Gazpacho
5 large vine-ripened tomatoes, chopped
1 small red onion, chopped
1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger root, peeled and minced
1 cup coconut milk
1 large vine-ripened tomato, whole
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
Directions
Combine the chopped tomatoes, red onion, ginger, and coconut milk in a blender and puree until smooth. Season the mixture with salt and pepper. Core the whole tomato and add to blender. Pulse the blender 5 times, or until the tomato is coarsely chopped. Transfer the gazpacho to the refrigerator to chill for at least 30 minutes.
Serve the soup in small chilled bowls, garnish with finely chopped cilantro.
Barbara — this soup sounds lovely! Thank you for sharing with us!
This sounds awesome.
summer foods to me are salads, watermelon and lemonade.
Thanks for your comment, Micki! Yes, lemonade is so, so summertime to me, too!
I have lots of watermelon in the fridge – thank you Valentina for sharing a great new way to enjoy it! Happy Summer!