Eating a plate of this salad is like drinking a glass of watermelon juice, with added flavour. It really is best suited to the hottest day, the sort of day where your skin hums with warmth and you don’t feel hungry. It is such a clean flavour that you can taste each individual element: the sweet watermelon, the salty feta, the sharp lemon. Our version is adapted from a Nigella Lawson recipe. We changed two things: I used one of our large lemons instead of the limes, and added toasted pine nuts for crunch. Adapt it as you please. Serves 8
1 small red onion
Juice of 4 limes or 1 large Spanish lemon
1½kg watermelon
250g feta
1 bunch fresh flat leaf parsley
1 bunch fresh mint
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
100g pitted black olives, roughly chopped
black pepper Peel and halve the red onion, cut it into very fine half-moons and put in a small bowl to steep with the lemon juice. This brings out the transparent pinkness in the onions and reduces the sharpness of the onion. Do this an hour or so in advance, if you can. This technique works on a normal white onion too, if you can’t get red.

Prepare the watermelon and cut into approximately mouth-sized chunks. Break the feta into similar-sized pieces. Put them both into a large, wide shallow bowl. I use the parsley and mint leaves whole, more as a salad leaf than as a garnish. Rinse, pat dry, then add to the bowl. Tip the marinated onions and their pink juice over the salad in the bowl, add the oil, pine nuts and olives. Toss the salad gently so the feta and watermelon don’t lose their shape. Add a good grinding of black pepper. 5 to remember
con anticipación – in advance
transparente – transparent
un trozo – a chunk
suavemente – gently
marinado/a – marinated

‘Forever Summer’ by Nigella Lawson [UK: Chatto & Windus]