Goat's cheese salad with watermelon
38 min
Juicy watermelon makes the perfect partner to tangy goat's cheese in this easy-to-assemble pasta salad. Flavour and texture are provided by crunchy endive, peppery rocket and toasted pine nuts, which combine to give a Mediterranean flair.
Maggie Pannell
1 person made this
Ingredients
Serves: 4
- 200g wholewheat penne (pasta quills)
- 150g medium-fat, firm goat's cheese
- ½ small watermelon, cubed and seeded
- 100g rocket
- 50g pine nuts, toasted
- 2 small heads of chicory
- 4 slices prosciutto, trimmed of fat and cut into strips
- DRESSING
- 2½ tbsp mild olive oil
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh mint
Method
Prep:25min ›
Cook:13min ›
Ready in:38min
- Cook the pasta in boiling water for 11–13 minutes or according to the pack instructions, until al dente. Drain and rinse under cold running water, then drain thoroughly and set aside to cool.
- Put all the ingredients for the dressing in a screw-topped jar and shake together well. Season to taste with freshly ground black pepper. Both the cheese and prosciutto are quite salty, so no extra salt should be needed.
- Crumble the cheese into the cooled pasta and add the watermelon. Pour over the dressing and lightly toss together, then add the rocket and pine nuts.
- Separate the chicory into individual leaves and arrange on a serving platter or shallow salad bowl. Arrange the salad on top and scatter over the prosciutto.
variations
*Feta cheese may be used instead of goat's cheese. Buy in a block rather than ready-cubed and reduce the salt content slightly, by soaking in a bowl of cold water for 2–3 minutes, then draining. Crumble or cut into small cubes. *Instead of the watermelon, try cubed honeydew or Charentais melon or diced ripe mango. Add the squeezed juice of 2 tbsp freshly grated ginger to the dressing.
