Dill is a natural with scrambled eggs and omelets (add cheese, especially feta). Add it to tuna, egg, potato and chicken salad. Toss it with cooked vegetables.

In a yogurt and cucumber salad, dill becomes the famous Greek dish, tzatziki.

As a garnish, snip fresh dill onto just about anything. Add it to hot dishes like soup just before serving.

Put a sprig in a martini or a Bloody Mary.

And it’s a beautiful pairing with lamb and poultry.

Dill originated in Eastern Europe and grew wild in the Mediterranean basin and in West Asia. Sprigs of dill were found in the tomb of Amenhotep II and in Roman ruins in Great Britain. The Talmud required that tithes be paid on dill.

Dill. Photo courtesy BaldorFood.com.

[1] A refreshing watermelon and strawberry salad with feta, goat cheese, or bocconcini/mozzarella balls (photo © Good Eggs).

[2] Yellow watermelon is a special treat (photo © DP Seeds).

[3] Greek feta is the best: no overly salty like others (photo courtesy Murray’s Cheese).

[4] There are more than 19 types of basil you can grow. Here’s more about them (photo © Epic Gardening).

[5] You can stack your salad, like this Watermelon Caprese. Here’s the recipe (photo © Mozzarella Company).

Watermelon is the juiciest of melons, with a very appropriate name given that the fruit contains about 92% water by weight. Mankind has been enjoying watermelon for a long time.

Originally, in Africa, the melons were carried as canteens, a providing watermelon water to the thirsty. The melons have been cultivated in the Nile Delta since the second millennium B.C.E.

Watermelon is a good source of vitamin C, beta carotene and lycopene (the latter in the red-fleshed variety only). But first and foremost, it’s delicious.

Beyond mixed fruit salads, Martinis, smoothies, sorbet, on the grill, and much more, today we suggest a great summer recipe: watermelon salad with feta, goat, or mozzarella, plus its perfect herb partner, basil.

You can eat it as a fruit-and-cheese salad, or add greens of choice.

Below:

> Watermelon salad ingredients.

> More watermelon salad recipes.

> Summer basil types.

Elsewhere on The Nibble:

> 20 more watermelon recipes: drinks, breakfast, lunch, sides, dessert.

> The history of watermelon.

> The history of feta cheese.

> The history of salad.

> The year’s 40 salad holidays.

Watermelon is wonderfully refreshing in this Watermelon Salad with Thai Basil & Feta. Just because it’s called a “salad” doesn’t mean it has lettuce—or even a recognizable vegetable. Other greens, such as parsley or basil can turn mixtures of ingredients into salads.
 
 
RECIPE: Watermelon & Feta Salad With Basil

Ingredients: Mix & Match

 
Preparation

1. SELECT ingredients, place in a bowl and toss lightly.
 

[4] Watermelon salad with bocconcini, mozzarella balls (photo courtesy Murray’s Cheese).
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*Substitute fresh lime juice for the vinegar, or use a citrus-infused vinegar or olive oil (blood orange, lemon, lime, etc.) If you have chile-infused oil, you can use that too, ideally half-and-half with non-flavored oil.
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MORE WATERMELON SALAD RECIPES

 
 
SUMMER BASIL TYPES

Beyond what you find in the supermarket—the herb called sweet basil—there are many different basil varieties, each with distinct aromas and flavors. We love the conventional basil, but in the summer months, we head to the nearest farmers market to pick up some special varieties.

If you live in a temperate climate, you may only see these in the summer months. If you have a garden, plant your own!

 
There are many more basil cultivars.
 
 
 

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Even when they’re not a stated recipe ingredient, chives add color and subtle onion favor to just about any dish: eggs in the morning, salads and soups at lunch and vegetables, poultry, fish, and compound butter at dinner (see a recipe for chive butter).

A sprinkling of tiny snipped chives adds a festive garnish dusting to any plate, and in their “long form,” they can tie asparagus or green beans in bundles, make graceful “X” designs over steaks, chops, fish and poultry. Combine chives with roasted red or yellow peppers or a slice of red tomato to make a tasty color statement. Halve red and yellow grape tomatoes in a vinaigrette with snipped chives for a delicious and low-calorie topping or condiment.

If your pot of chives flowers, consider that a bonus and use them immediately as a glorious garnish.

• Try this recipe for Spice-Seared Tofu with Avocado, Beets & Cucumbers. The sauce is an avocado purée with chives.

Chives in flower. Photo by Bura | SXC.