** I have not been keeping up with this blog at all, but I wrote up this recipe earlier in the summer and it’s too good not to share. In my part of the world we’ve still got maybe one or two more weeks of late summer produce, and this is a delicious way to celebrate it. 

I am not the world’s biggest fan of salad — or rather, making salad at home. Salads at a restaurant are just always better, for a couple of reasons: one, they just have more stuff to put in them than the average home cook throwing together a salad out of the crisper drawer. Two, they toss everything really well instead of trying to fit everything in a too-small bowl and then combine. Three, there’s probably just a lot more salt and sugar in there than you might add at home.

All of that said: it’s hot out, and my Sweetgreen habit is already out of control. Time for a really aces summer salad that I actually want to make and eat. Unsurprisingly, I found my inspiration at at a restaurant, Stoked Pizza, which recently moved into our neighborhood. They make a version of this that includes some fairly insane warm goat cheese croutons. I tried to approximate their salad, with regular packaged feta for convenience’s sake. This is not a throw-it-together salad. It likely requires a shopping trip, but everything is fresh, in season and easy to find this time of year, and the prep is pretty minimal. It could be a dinner all by itself, especially with some grilled chicken or steak on the side.
Serves 4-6 as a side.

2 heads of romaine lettuce
1/2 large red onion
1 large tomato
2 ears of corn
Roughly 4 cups of watermelon, cut into 1-2 inch cubes
1 cup of mint leaves
Feta cheese

Dressing
2 tbsp rice vinegar
4 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper

1. Slice onion finely. Mix 1 tbsp salt with 2 cups of warm water, add onions and leave to soak while you prep the rest of your salad.
2. Wash and dry lettuce. Slice into bite size pieces. Place into serving dish.
3. Shred mint with your (clean) fingers and add to lettuce.
4. Gently slice corn off its cobs. Add to lettuce mixture.
5. Slice tomato.
6. Assemble dressing ingredients and whisk together thoroughly.
7. When ready to serve, drain onions and rinse. Add to lettuce mixture.
8. Toss lettuce, mint, onion, and corn. Layer watermelon and tomato on top, and top with feta.