This Outer Banks-inspired Watermelon Blue Cheese Salad with Creamy Lemon Balsamic Vinaigrette is bright and flavorful!
Disclosure: Thank you to The Outer Banks of North Carolina for inviting me on this amazing trip. All opinions written are 100% my own. I’m so grateful for opportunities like this. I only work with brands I know and love, and I thank you for supporting them!
Happy July 4! I like to think this day is the unofficial National Watermelon Day. The official one isn’t until August 3, but there is no better day to be eating slices of sweet, succulent watermelon.
After visiting The Outer Banks of North Carolina last month, I have been craving the most wonderful watermelon dish I tried at Kimball’s Kitchen, one of the restaurants in the lovely Sanderling Resort in Duck, N.C.
I spent an afternoon there with the food & beverage director to sample the menus of the Sandbar and Kimball’s Kitchen.
The bartender made me three of his favorite cocktails from the bar’s signature cocktail menu — a Sunset Spritzer (Aperol + Prosecco + burnt orange), a Passionate Lady (vodka + Chambord + pineapple) and a French 75 (Hendrick’s gin + champagne + lemon).
So good! It was such a treat to get to enjoy these cocktails and chat with the bartender about his favorite spirits, his experience as a bartender in New York and how much he enjoys spending his summers in the Outer Banks to tend bar at Kimball’s Kitchen.
Next, I got to try the most stunning two dishes from the summer 2016 menu.
The first is the stunning Currituck Melon Salad and then a dessert of berries, dark and white chocolate cake and truffles.
Everything I tasted at The Sanderling was so delicious! I definitely want to come back to Kimball’s Kitchen next time I’m in the Outer Banks.
It’s open from May to October, so if you’re headed that way this summer, definitely make a reservation here. And check out all the other stops my friends and I made on our road trip to the Outer Banks!
Now that watermelons abound at my local farmers’ market, I had to recreate that melon salad!
The one at Kimball’s Kitchen had layers of flavor — juicy watermelon and honeydew, crisp arugula, sharp stilton cheese and a drizzle of white truffle vinaigrette.
I made my version of it into more of a side salad, with more greens, more melon and more cheese.
And I added a few slices of radish for an extra bite. I also skipped the truffle oil in the vinaigrette and went for my favorite balsamic instead.
Perfect for summer lunches!
This Watermelon Blue Cheese Salad with Creamy Lemon Balsamic Vinaigrette is definitely a salad with which to impress your friends. Enjoy! // susannah
Watermelon Blue Cheese Salad with Creamy Lemon Balsamic Vinaigrette
ingredients
For the salad
- 4 cups mixed greens washed and dried
- ½ watermelon cut into squares
- ½ honeydew melon cut into squares
- 4 radishes thinly sliced
- 4 ounces blue cheese crumbled
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
- sea salt to taste
- ¼ cup vinaigrette to taste
For the vinaigrette
- 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar or white truffle oil
- ⅔ cup extra virgin olive oil
instructions
- Place greens on four salad plates. Add watermelon and honeydew squares and top with radish slices. Crumble the bleu cheese over top.
- For the vinaigrette, place all ingredients in a small mixing bowl and whisk together until combined.
- Drizzle vinaigrette over salad and season with salt and pepper to taste.
recommended products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Leave a Reply