Use Watermelon as a Secret Weapon for Salads

Hey, it's summer! And summer means watermelons.

Sure you can just stick one in the fridge, maybe infuse it with a little booze, and cut it up when you need a quick drop of your core temperature. But you can also use watermelon as a secret weapon to turn any salad into a summer classic.

It's a little trick we picked up from Fijian-Chinese-Indian chef Louis Tikaram of West Hollywood's wildly popular E.P. & L.P. When Tikaram passed by the MUNCHIES rooftop garden, he made one hell of a rib-eye steak, but it was his arugula and green mustard salad that really intrigued us.

The sweet watermelon purée that was the basis of his dressing turned out to be the perfect counterpoint to the assertive greens he picked from our garden. "I don't really use oil much in salad. I like to keep a clean palate, especially with peppery greens like this," Tikaram said.

So, with this new weapon in your summer arsenal, it's time to sweeten up this super simple salad, or any other, for that matter, with the overlord of summer fruits.