Fruit salad was all melon balls and underripe grapes until someone had the ingenious idea to combine watermelon and feta. You can think of this honeydew, feta, jalapeño and lime salad (from Jess Damuck’s new cookbook, Salad Freak) as a new twist on the favorite. Serve it as a side salad for four or a snack, for more.

“If you took out the feta cheese,” she writes, “I’m certain that if blended, this would also make an incredible tequila-based cocktail.”

Say no more.

_{Recipe excerpt from the new book Salad Freak: Recipes to Feed a Healthy Obsession by Jess Damuck, published by Abrams. Text © 2022 by Jess Damuck. Photography by Linda Pugliese.}

RELATED: Chilled Cucumber Salad

Honeydew, Feta, Jalapeño and Lime Salad

Servings: 6 to 8 servings

Time:

Ingredients:

1 small, extremely ripe honeydew melon

1 small jalapeño or serrano chile

2 limes

1 cup fresh basil leaves, torn if large (I recommend purple basil, if available)

4 ounces (115g) feta cheese (Valbreso or French)

Extra-virgin olive oil

Flaky salt

Directions:

1. Prep the melon: Cut the ends of the honeydew melon so it has two flat surfaces. While it’s on one of its flat surfaces, cut the rind off the melon, trying to lose as little flesh as possible. Cut the melon in half and scoop out the seeds. Cut in half again and thinly slice.

2. Assemble the salad: Shingle the melon slices on a platter. Thinly slice the feta and add the thin shards to the platter with the melon. Thinly slice the jalapeño (I like to do it on a mandoline, and I keep the seeds in for a little extra kick) and scatter it on top of the melon and feta. Use a microplane to zest the lime right over the platter, then squeeze its juice all over. Cut another lime into wedges and arrange around the platter. Drizzle the salad with oil and sprinkle with flaky salt. Add the basil to the platter.

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