Sunday, June 6, 2010

Watermelon, Mango & Spinach Salad

Let this be your first salad of summer. Light and sweet, these three fresh ingredients are coming in on sale now. At my local Latin market & 99c only Store I picked up small, sweet, Manila mangoes and seedless mini-watermelon for 99 cents or less.


I first had this salad only a few weeks ago at an after-party for a screening of HBO's "A Special Relationship" (About Tony Blair and Bill Clinton's stormy friendship - a memorable scene takes place, at Britian's 10 Downing Street, of Bill Clinton raiding Tony Blair's refrigerator, almost worth the price of a HBO subscription!), at the Director's Guild on Sunset Boulevard. It was quite a spread -- mixing British and American cuisines, including: Fish & Chips, Sliced Beef Sandwiches, Mac & Cheese, Fried Chicken, Mini-Shepherd's Pie, and, most memorably, Watermelon, Mango and Baby Spinach Salad (that was worth a trip for seconds).
The movie was good and the food was terrific.

Soon after, I made my own version with chopped regular spinach (baby spinach is harder to find and usually more expensive) for an outdoor party thrown by our neighbors Bob & Lori for their new baby, Lola. It was gobbled up almost immediately, so I know you will like it!

You can use any light salad dressing you have on hand to mix into the salad -- or make a simple lemon juice (or orange juice) & olive oil dressing. So try out this scrumptious summer salad made with budget and fresh Latin market ingredients.

Ingredients ( serves about 4)
  • 3 cups of watermelon - cut into bite-sized pieces. I used seedless for the convenience.
  • 2 cups of mango - peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces. Okay to substitute canned, drained, pineapple.
  • 1 bunch of spinach - washed and chopped roughly.
  • *(Originally, salad was made with whole Baby Spinach leaves, so use that for a nicer display for guests or a party.)

Salad Dressing

  • 3 tablespoons of olive or vegetable oil.
  • Juice of whole lemon - lemon or lime juice from jar is fine, about 1/4 cup. Okay to substitute orange juice.
  • A pinch of salt.
  • Okay to substitute with a favorite store bought light salad dressing.

Directions
Chop watermelon and mango into bite-sized pieces. Wash well and cut off stems of spinach. Chop roughly. Add all to a large salad bowl.

In a small bowl whisk together lemon juice, olive oil and salt. Pour into salad bowl and mix well. If you have a light salad dressing on hand, it is fine to use that instead.

4 comments:

christian said...

I love ethnic markets. You can get such great deals and the selection can be so diverse. Love your salad, by the way.

99 Cent Chef said...

I'm going back to get chicken leg quarters for 49 cents per pound!

Unknown said...

Those prices are awesome. Especially the mangoes. I'm definitely trying this recipe.

precious said...

I like the salad. Something refreshing in the middle of the heat! And it is affordable.
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