Summer salad courtesy of Zaytinya

Zaytinya Martini

I recently met a colleague at Zaytinya  for an informal business meeting. After perusing the menu and submitting orders a member of the staff approached the table with a dish. My colleague and I looked at each other thinking the other had ordered the dish. When we  realized neither one of us had ordered the dish we explained that the dish had mistakenly been sent to our table and resumed chatting.

A few minutes later our server returned holding the dish. He explained the dish, a watermelon salad featuring feta cheese, kalamata olive, spring onion, and mint was for us. It was sent to us from the house because of our frequent patronage.  We thanked the server and studied the salad for a few seconds. I suddenly realized my colleague was a food enthusiast like me!

Zaytinya's watermelon salad

John Livanos of Zaytinya stopped at our table and explained that he had sent the salad - it was a new item on Zaytinya's menu. He wanted us to try it and thanked us again for our patronage. He also told us it was very common in Greek homes to serve this salad in the summer whether dining with family or family and guests. 

The salad is a combination of savory, sweet, and salty. It's also cool and refreshing. As my colleague chatted I envisioned myself sitting on a rooftop on a summer evening dining enjoying the salad. I had to know how to make this salad! I made a mental note to search the internet. 

The closest facsimile to Zaytinya's lovely salad is a watermelon salad recipe I found on Food and Wine's site. The recipe serves 12, so adjust accordingly. Not sure how to adjust the recipe for smaller or larger servings? Submit a comment I'm happy to assist.  If you  know of another recipe, share it by submitting a comment.

OR you could stop by Zaytinya and experience this delicious salad for yourself. Reservations for Zaytinya can be made via Opentable. The closest metro stop is Gallery Place. Valet parking and metered street parking are available.

Be well,

Technicolor girl