Watermelon, tomato and olive salad with mint and toasted almonds

Serves - 4

You’ll need

• 500g watermelon, cut into bite-sized chunks or wedges
• 300g ripe tomatoes, cut into wedges or large chunks
• Small handful black olives, pitted
• 40g flaked almonds
• Small handful mint leaves, roughly torn
• Small handful flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• Juice of ½ lemon
• Sea salt
• Black pepper

Method

1. Toast the almonds

Put the flaked almonds into a dry frying pan over a medium heat and toast for 2–3 minutes, shaking the pan now and then, until golden and smelling nutty. Tip them straight onto a plate so they do not keep cooking and catch when your back is turned.

2. Get the dressing together

In a small bowl or jug, whisk together the extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, a pinch of salt and a good grind of black pepper. It wants to be sharp enough to wake everything up, not sit quietly in the background pretending to help.

3. Build the salad

Put the watermelon, tomatoes and olives into a large bowl or onto a serving platter. Scatter over most of the mint and parsley, keeping a little back for the finish.

4. Dress it properly

Spoon or drizzle over the dressing, then toss very gently so you do not knock the watermelon and tomatoes about too much. This is one of those salads that is much happier treated with a bit of care.

5. Finish and serve

Scatter over the toasted almonds and the remaining herbs, then give it a final twist of black pepper. Serve straight away while everything still feels cool, fresh and properly lively.

A couple of helpful notes

- Use the best tomatoes you can get, because in a salad this simple they do need to pull their weight.
- If your watermelon is especially juicy, let it sit on kitchen paper for a few minutes before assembling the salad so things do not get too watery.
- This is very good alongside grilled vegetables, flatbreads or anything smoky from the barbecue.