Cucumber Watermelon Salad with Pecorino Romano, Toasted Pine Nuts and Basil

Last weekend my Grandpa brought me over a bag of home grown cucumbers from his garden and I have been enjoying them all week.  There is simply no substitute for growning them yourself, the ones from the store never taste the same!  I love to simply eat them with hummus for a snack, or blend them up into a cold soup, they are so good!  I was given a watermelon yesterday, and so I thought, what better to pair it with than the cool cucumbers! 

It has been hot and humid all week afterall, and I think we are all in need of a bit of cooling from the inside out.  Nothing complicated here, just the cukes and melon, to which I added a bit of fresh basil from my herb garden and some pine nuts and pecorino romano for richness.  Then to top it off I drizzled it with a bit of lemon juice and basil oil I had on hand.  So refreshing!  Simple summer produce at its best!  This is a wonderful combination you can only enjoy at the peak of summer.  Here is the recipe if you would like to try some for yourself!

Cucumber Watermelon Salad with Pecorino Romano, Toasted Pine Nuts and Basil

Serves 3

1 medium organic cucumber, sliced into rings

1 1/2 cup organic watermelon, cut into chunks

3 Tbsp pine nuts

3/4 oz pecorino romano cheese, shaved

a few fresh basil leaves cut into chiffonade

Dressing:

1 Tbsp lemon juice

2 Tbsp basil oil

sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

On each of 3 plates, arrange cucumber and melon decoratively, sprinkle with pine nuts, pecorino and basil leaves.  In a small bowl, whisk together lemon juice and basil oil and drizzle over the salads.  Sprinkle with a little sea salt and pepper if desired.