Recipes

Lebanese Melon and Mint Salad

Serves 4

| Prep Time: 15 mins

| Cook Time: 0 mins

| Total Time: 15 mins

You may need: Aleppo Pepper

Discover The Recipe

When summer heats up, it's nice to have a variety of light, seasonal salad recipes to mix into your rotation. This refreshing Lebanese Melon and Mint Salad is a perfect salad for your summer potluck or BBQ dinner party. Cool mint and melon pair with tangy key limes, accentuated with a kiss of mild heat from fruity Aleppo Pepper chili flakes.

Aleppo Pepper is very popular around the Mediterranean, especially the Levant Region (Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, and Turkey) and is often found in grilled meats, kebabs, dips, and salads. It is a perfect table condiment and is lovely to sprinkle over eggs, roasted veggies, and pastas to add a zip of flavor. Similar looking to red pepper flakes, Aleppo Pepper flakes have about half the heat and twice the flavor! Test a small amount first and then ramp up the amount as desired.

Ingredients

Lebanese Melon and Mint Salad

1 medium watermelon, seedless
1 medium honeydew melon
1/4 cup mint leaves, chopped
Juice of 4 key limes (or 2 limes)
1 Tbsp agave nectar or maple syrup (plus more to taste)
Pinch sea salt
1/4 tsp Piquant Post Aleppo Pepper (plus more to taste)

Notes

This is a very refreshing salad to serve on a hot day. There’s a wonderful balance between the sweet melon, tart lime, spicy and fruity Aleppo pepper, and bright mint!

Aleppo pepper is unique staple of Middle Eastern cuisine! Read more about it here.

Serve this salad as a light and refreshing side to our vegetarian Stuffed Eggplant or with our Turkish Kofta.

Instructions

Slice both of the melons in half and scoop out the seeds from the honeydew.

Using a melon baller or small scooper, scoop out balls of the melon flesh from both melons, avoiding the white pith near the skin. Place all of the balls in a large mixing bowl.

Add the mint leaves, key lime juice, agave, sea salt and Aleppo pepper to the mixing bowl. Gently toss until everything is well coated.

Divide the melon into 4 bowls or place the dressed melon salad into a serving platter. Garnish with more mint and Aleppo pepper if desired.

Alternatives & Substitutions

We made this recipe with watermelon and honeydew but you can feel free to use cantaloupe or any other type of in-season melon that you have available. Learn how to pick the perfect melon here!
Key limes are the citrus of choice in this recipe because they are sweeter than regular limes or lemons. However you can use regular limes or lemons if you can’t find key limes. You may need to adjust the amount of agave to balance the sweetness to taste.
Try sprinkling Aleppo Pepper on pizza instead of regular red pepper flakes for a distinct twist. Or try making one at home like our Merguez Sausage, Eggplant and Feta Pizza recipe.
Use Aleppo Pepper to make some of our other fantastic recipes: Pomegranate and Aleppo Pepper Roasted Chicken or vegan recipes like Muhammara (roasted red pepper and walnut dip) or Crispy Chickpeas.
Try using Piquant Post Aleppo Pepper in Aleppo Pepper and Apricot-Glazed Chicken, or Turkish Lamb Chops.
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