Instant Summer: The 10-Minute Watermelon Salad

Fun fact: our new DEW MIST Setting Spray is super hydrating thanks to none other than Watermelon Extract … which got us thinking about all the reasons we’re grateful for this beautiful, summery fruit. Enter Jane Coxwell, a New York-based chef known for her colorful, fresh take on seasonal ingredients. She created a bareMinerals-inspired watermelon salad just for us (and you!). Enjoy, and stay tuned for more recipes from Jane. 

Watermelon is instant summer – it keeps you hydrated and brings beautiful color to the table. This salad is great for company as it comes together quickly and can be prepped in advance — just get everything ready, store it in the fridge, then assemble it on the plate and dress it at the last moment. 

The red onion for this recipe is slightly pickled, which goes really well with the sweet watermelon and salty feta. The radishes add a lovely crisp texture — plus their gorgeous color adds some pop to this already colorful dish. 

10-Minute Watermelon Salad Recipe

Ingredients

Serves: 4-6
Prep time: 10 minutes

1 1/2 limes
1/2 watermelon
1/2 red onion
1 1/2 oranges
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 handful of picked cilantro leaves
1 handful of picked dill leaves
6-8 radishes
6 ounces feta cheese

Instructions

• Slice the red onion and place in a bowl. Squeeze 1 juicy lime’s worth of juice into a small bowl and give it a little toss with your fingers to make sure the lime juice is getting all the onion. It’ll only take about 5-10 minutes for them to become slightly transparent and pickled. 

• Cut the watermelon into bite-size pieces. Then cut the radishes into little wedges or slices, depending on what you find easiest. 

• Place the cut watermelon and radishes in a large bowl, and squeeze the juice of an orange over it. The onions should be slightly pickled now, so add them into the bowl as well. Then, add one lug of olive oil. Season with a little sea salt and a good twist of black pepper. 

• Toss the above together gently with your hands to coat everything in the orange, lime, and olive oil.

• When you’re ready to serve, place the watermelon, radishes and onion on a platter. (Don’t throw that beautiful juice in the bottom on the bowl away! This will be your dressing.) Then take the feta and gently break it up with your hands so that it’s fairly evenly dispersed over the whole salad. Next, scatter the dill and cilantro leaves onto the dish.

• Finally, take the beautiful dressing left over in the bowl that once had the watermelon in it, and use a spoon to dress the salad evenly. 

• Enjoy!

Meet Jane

Jane Coxwell is a chef, author and consultant, and has earned her reputation as one of the most sought-after private chefs with a style that’s as elegant as it is unpretentious.

Equally comfortable working over open fires on the beaches of Papua New Guinea as she is in the kitchens of the biggest names in fashion, media and entertainment, Jane has cooked her way around the world, cultivating an approach to food and travel that is uniquely her own. 

Born in Zimbabwe and raised in South Africa, Jane was one of the youngest chefs ever appointed to run the kitchen of a Camper & Nicholsons yacht. At just 23, she joined Hall Wines in California’s Napa Valley as Executive Chef and Culinary Manager, where she cooked for prominent guests including Hillary Clinton. For the last near-decade, Jane has served as Diane von Furstenberg’s chef, both on Eos, the 305-foot sailing yacht she and Barry Diller own, and in New York and Connecticut.

Her experiences on and off Eos — ranging from meals in the villages of Southeast Asia to the vibrant open-air markets of the Italian Riviera — inspired her first book, Fresh, Happy, Tasty: An Adventure in 100 Recipes. Now based in New York City, Jane continues to develop food-and travel-centric content while working on her second book. She also consults for large events, including the creation of the first sustainable meal for the 2017 CFDA Awards.

• Share this article
• Tweet this article