Watermelon, Feta and Black Olive Salad

Our answer

Nigella's Watermelon, Feta and Black Olive Salad (from Nigella Summer and on the Nigella website) is a wonderfully refreshing salad for hot weather, but like many salads it is best assembled just before it is eaten. It is particularly important for this salad as the watermelon lets out quite a bit of juice as it stands, which dilutes the dressing. Also the chopped fresh herbs will start to loose their vibrancy if they stand for too long. However you can prepare some of the individual components ahead of time, leaving very little to do when you are ready to eat.

The watermelon can be cubed the night before and stored in the fridge in an airtight container (discard or find another use for the juice that collects in the container overnight). The feta can also be cubed and stored in another airtight container or on a plate tightly wrapped with clingfilm (plastic wrap). The herbs can also be washed and dried and then stored - pick the leaves from the parsley and wrap them in a piece of lightly dampened kitchen roll (paper towel), put them in a resealable bag and store in the salad crisper or in the door of the fridge. Do the same with the mint leaves. About an hour before serving the salad slice the onion and put it in the lime juice. Then when you are ready all you need to do is chop the mint and assemble the salad, which should only take a few moments.