BBQ Watermelon
With feta sauce, thyme-mint oil, olives and pine nuts
You might think grilling watermelon sounds a bit funky, but trust me and give it a go during your next barbecue! After grilling the watermelon totally transforms from light and fresh to deep caramelized and nutty flavours. Using other types of melon will also work, hence the experience will be quite different. Also feel free to change up the fresh herbs for whatever you can find in your garden!
Ingredients
1 small or half a big watermelon
1 handful pine nuts
A small bunch of fresh thyme
A small bunch of fresh mint
50 ml olive oil
1 lime or lemon
1 clove of garlic
200 gr good quality feta cheese
75 ml full fat cream
1 tablespoon honey
A small bunch of fresh dill
A large handful of Kalamata olives
Salt and pepper
Method
Preheat the barbecue or grill. Start by removing the skin of the watermelon with a knife. Then slice it into 1 cm ‘steaks’ and another cut through the middle into half-moon pieces.
In a small pan (or in the oven) toast your pine nuts until nice and golden. Then, make the thyme and mint oil by combining the olive oil and lemon juice with the fresh mint and thyme leafs. Use a stick blender or food processor to blitz up into a nice and green oil. TIP: immediately after, cool the oil down in a freezer. By doing so, it will stay super green.
Make the feta sauce by finely chopping a clove of garlic. Heat up a saucepan on medium heat, then fry the garlic in a bit of oil. Crumble the feta into the pan and immediately add the cream. Bring the sauce to a heat, but keep whisking now and then so that the bottom doesn’t burn. Season with a tiny bit of salt and pepper. Finally add the honey and freshly chopped dill. Be aware that the sauce thickens if it cools down, so if your planning to serve it cold, add a bit more cream.
Time to grill the watermelon! Make sure the grill is super hot. Grill the peaces for around 3 or 4 minutes on each sides, or until you have nice grilling marks. Then the moment is there to plate up. Start with a bit of fêta sauce on the bottom, place the grilled watermelon on top and finish off with a drizzle of the thyme-mint oil, pine nuts, kalamata olives and optionally a bit more fresh herbs. Ching Ching!