cheese — Blogs — Patricia Chang

Just when I thought beautifully organized toppings on a smoothie bowl was the epitome of photogenic healthy foods, I stumble upon this. Have you noticed the strange trend on Instagram (and I'm assuming on Pinterest & the like) lately? #WatermelonPizza? Did your face cringe or did it light up? Haha, I remember being intrigued yet a little confused about how I felt about it.

Recently I saw it on @natehunt's beautiful Instagram page, and it was his take with a greek yogurt spread that finally sold me that this could actually be a tasty dish. I do like greek yogurt, but I'm not craaazy about it. That got me thinking about what flavors are successful with watermelon. Ah, yes of course - Watermelon Salad! I googled some recipes and came up with my own take. What a pleasant surprise when it was even more delicious than I anticipated my first time around. Here's how it went:

Timidly, I chose a small watermelon as it would be my first attempt. It's perfectly round and absolutely adorable. Made me happy to pick it. You can pick a large one if you want to make one for a party or have a more prominent "pizza" look.

You can make as many "pies" from one watermelon depending on how thick or thin you slice it. Don't be intimidated by this step. Slicing watermelon is fairly smooth and easy with a large knife.

Feta seems to be the ideal cheese to marry with the flavor of the watermelon. It's the combination of sweet and salty that work so nicely together.

Red onions. Is it just me? I love it when a recipe asks for red onion because it adds color.

Here are my toppings and you can play around with yours. Baby Arugula, Pistachio nuts, Mint, Cherry Tomatoes, Olives, Cucumbers, Artichoke.

I have a confession here: The ingredients in the round bowls are from the self serve salad bar at Whole Foods! It was from a greek salad dish. This was a great idea for me because I personally don't like random leftovers in the fridge. Even for a larger pizza, you won't be needing much of each topping.

Garnish your pizza!

Time to cut the slices! Again, it was surprisingly smooth and easy especially since I made thin pies.

I did make a note however for next time: If you want a super neat presentation, try slicing them right after the feta cheese step, and then garnishing the slices afterward.

Voila~ Watermelon Pizzas will make for a great appetizer this summer. Your guests are guaranteed to make a comment about it as well as enjoy it!

Difficulty level: It's much easier than making a real pizza, and just as easy as making a salad. Harder than ordering pizza delivery. Ha ha..

Finally, I found it flavorful as is, but a drizzle of delicious olive oil and a pinch of pepper never hurt. You won't need to salt because of the feta cheese and olives.

I devoured 2 pies by myself immediately and my family shared the third pie. My toddler, Chase went for all the pistachios (and an innocent bite of the crust which he didn't like). Conclusion? Clean to eat since it doesn't flop like a real pizza. Juicy, fun and delicious! Please share your pies and personal twist on the recipe if you do one with me. I'd love to see it! Happy eating and the camera CAN eat this one first since it's not a hot dish ;)