Watermelon makes a guest appearance in a savory salad. photo by Nancy Duran

This is a recipe that was part of a summer barbecue cooking class I taught last week. I’m happy to report that my students loved it. They especially loved how easy it was to throw together. I wasn’t going to post it because it’s an update on an older Greek salad I’ve posted here before but I felt it was so beautiful to look at and such an upgrade from the earlier recipe that it demanded a wider audience. Enjoy this celebration of all the tastiest bits of summer.

Serves 4 as a side or 8 as a part of a larger barbecue spread

Salad

1 cup cooked and cooled farro
6 cups arugula
2 cups bite-size watermelon chunks, from about 1/8 medium watermelon
2 mini Lebanese cucumbers, cut into chunks
1 large tomato, cut into chunks
¼ red onion, thinly sliced
1/3 cup pitted Kalamata olives
½ cup crumbled feta cheese
Handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, roughly chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Dressing
1 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
1 small garlic clove, grated on a Microplane
2 tablespoons olive oil

1. In a large serving bowl, combine all salad ingredients.
2. To make the dressing, combine all ingredients in a screw-top jar. Shake vigorously to combine.
3. Just before serving, pour the dressing over the salad and toss gently to combine and coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Analysis based on 4 servings (does not include salt and pepper to taste):
Calories 240, Fat 13g, Sodium 341mg, Carbohydrate 27g, Fiber 4g, Sugar 10g, Protein 8g