Recipe: Spanish Watermelon Feta and White Anchovy Salad
This recipe was inspired by a salad I had on a recent trip to Spain – one of those simple combinations that immediately makes sense once you try it.
Sweet, cold watermelon is paired with salty feta, green olives and white anchovies, then finished with plenty of fresh herbs, lemon and good-quality extra virgin olive oil. It’s fresh, salty and slightly sweet, with the acidity of the anchovies and lemon bringing everything together.
Best of all, there’s no cooking required. Serve it as a summer lunch, a side for a larger spread or as part of a long afternoon of shared plates.
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 800g seedless watermelon, chilled
- 100g white anchovy fillets, drained
- 150g Greek or Danish feta
- ½ cup green olives, pitted
- ½ cup fresh mint leaves
- ½ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
- ¼ cup fresh dill
- 1 lemon
- 2 tbsp good-quality extra virgin olive oil
- Freshly cracked black pepper
Method
1. Prepare the watermelon. Cut the watermelon into large, bite-sized pieces and arrange across a serving platter.
2. Add the feta and olives. Break the feta into rough pieces and scatter over the watermelon, followed by the green olives.
3. Add the anchovies. Drain the white anchovies well and arrange them throughout the salad. Keeping the fillets whole gives you a better balance of anchovy, watermelon and feta in each mouthful.
4. Add the herbs. Roughly tear any larger mint and parsley leaves, leaving the smaller leaves whole. Scatter the mint, parsley and dill generously over the salad.
5. Dress and serve. Squeeze over fresh lemon juice and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. Finish with cracked black pepper and serve immediately.
There’s generally no need to add salt – between the feta, olives and anchovies, the salad should have plenty already.
What Are White Anchovies?
If your idea of anchovies is the intensely salty fillets packed in oil and used on pizza, white anchovies are quite different.
Known in Spain as boquerones, white anchovies are fresh anchovies that are typically cured in vinegar rather than heavily salted. The curing process turns the flesh pale or white and gives the fish its characteristic clean, tangy flavour and tender texture. They are usually finished in oil, often with garlic, parsley or other seasonings.
Boquerones are a familiar sight in Spanish tapas bars, where they can be served simply with olive oil and herbs, alongside olives, or as part of pintxos and other small plates.
What Do White Anchovies Taste Like?
Compared with traditional salt-cured anchovies, white anchovies are much milder. They still have the natural richness and umami you expect from an oily fish, but with a fresh acidity from the vinegar cure.
Their texture is also different. Rather than being dense and intensely salty, white anchovy fillets are soft and delicate with a little firmness to the flesh.
That makes them particularly good in fresh salads like this one. The acidity cuts through the creamy feta and olive oil, while their saltiness contrasts with the sweet watermelon.
Greek or Danish Feta?
Either works well, but they give the salad a slightly different result.
Greek feta is generally firmer, more crumbly and has a stronger salty, tangy character. It’s a good choice if you want plenty of contrast against the watermelon.
Danish-style feta tends to be softer and creamier, giving the salad a slightly gentler flavour and richer texture.
Whichever you choose, use a good-quality feta and break it into irregular pieces rather than cutting it into perfect cubes. This is a salad that should look relaxed.
A Few Tips
Keep the watermelon refrigerated until you’re ready to assemble the salad – it’s much better served properly cold.
Drain the anchovies before adding them, but don’t rinse them, as you’ll lose some of the flavour from the marinade.
And finally, assemble this one close to serving. Once cut and dressed, watermelon will gradually release its juices. It will still taste great, but the salad is at its best when everything has just been brought together.