Watermelon Steak Salad with Heirloom Tomatoes and Sangria Vinaigrette

“I grew up eating Georgia rattlesnake watermelons—that’s really what they’re called, because the dark green stripes resemble a diamondback rattlesnake. These heirloom varietals, which can grow up to forty pounds, have a deep reddish-pink flesh that is sweeter than sweet. Folks started growing them around here in the 1830s. When I was a kid, we’d throw them in the back of the truck and take them to market. Because they are harder to come by now, and because people have grown accustomed to seedless watermelons, I created this recipe to accommodate either. But I absolutely prefer a rattlesnake watermelon, which we grow at Gilliard Farms.”

Matthew Raiford, Bress ‘N’ Nyam: Gullah Geechee Recipes from a Sixth-Generation Farmer.