Olive and Watermelon Salad Bites

Disclosure: As an Eat Write Retreat registrant, I received samples of California Ripe Olives and a variety of OXO tools (whoot!) With creating and posting this recipe, I am eligible to win prizes via the Amazing Apps Culinary Challenge. All thoughts and opinons are my own – bonus that I’ve long been a fan of olives & OXO!

So, if you stuck around after that long winded disclosure statement (thanks updated FTC guidelines), I’m super excited about this post for several reasons:

1) I am finally getting to attend this year’s Eat Write Retreat in my hometown this year (more disclosure: I’ll be speaking on behalf of Gerolsteiner mineral water.)

2) Attendees were eligible to enter the Amazing Apps Culinary Challenge. We were all mailed a surprise ingredient: for me, California Ripe Olives along with some nifty OXO tools to help in developing an appetizer using assigned food.

3) You know you’re a kitchen nerd when you actually get giddy over a smooth edge can opener and a new strainer (not to mention 3 different kinds of hand graters.) But really, if it’s an OXO tool, it’s bound to be useful, sturdy and reliable in my book.

4) Maybe it’s the Italian blood in me, but I love anything olive (OK, except for those jarred guys stuffed with pimentos) so I was very happy to get this assignment and learn some more olive fun facts like:

• Green ripe olives are not exposed to air so they keep their green color
• California Ripe Olives cure for 7 days
• California produces 95% of all U.S. ripe olives (dang, what doesn’t grow in California?)

So, onto the recipe: I’ve enjoyed watermelon and feta salad before and I figured olives (since they are a fruit!) would be a nice and unique complement. I used fresh mozzarella here to keep it convenient but next time I want to try this one of my favorite summer cheese – ricotta salada – which is like a feta but less tangy. It may be a bit harder to find but it’s worth the search.

I added some mint for additional flavor and color then marinated it all in a simple orange honey vinaigrette.

Olive Watermelon Salad Bites

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• Author: by Deanna Segrave-Daly, RD
• Yield: 22 -24 salad bites 1x

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Description

Olives and watermelon may sound like a strange pairing but they are delicious together. Try these salad bite appetizers for your next summer get-together.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

For the dressing:

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon minced red onion
• 1 1/2 teaspoons orange muscat champagne vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon honey
• 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• Zest from 1/2 small orange (about 1/2 teaspoon)
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

For salad:

• 1 (6 ounce) can California Ripe Olives (about 44)
• 1 cup cubed watermelon
• 4 ounces fresh mozzarella balls, cut in half
• Fresh mint leaves (about 12)

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Instructions

1. In a large bowl, whisk together oil, onion, vinegar, honey, mustard, zest, pepper and salt.
2. Add olives, watermelon and mozzarella, gently toss with dressing. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. Use toothpicks or skewers for assembly. For each salad bite, add one olive, one watermelon cube, mozzarella piece, mint leaf, then another olive. Repeat with remaining ingredients.

Next time I’ll probably just skip the fancy toothpick thing and serve it up in a bowl like a fruit salad. I got a feeling, this one is going to be on menu often this summer.

Anyone else attending Eat Write Retreat? Are you an olive fan? Do you have a favorite summertime appetizer to share? Would love to hear from you!