Not-So-Conventional Greek Salad

A traditional Greek salad often has a giant slab of feta accompanied by massive chunks of inexperienced pepper and tomato, together with olives, onion, and cucumber. Definitely, it’s scrumptious nevertheless it’s just a little bit unwieldy to eat. Plus, the dearth of lettuce looks like an oversight. This can be a salad that wants some lettuce!

So I’ve determined to place my very own spin on Greek salad with this recipe. It nonetheless has the feta, Kalamata olives, and conventional veggies, however they’re lower into fork-sized items to make your consuming expertise seamless (a way I borrowed from my chopped Greek salad). I additionally add lettuce, which is ideal for profiting from that zippy purple wine French dressing.

My Greek Salad Recipe

A modernized Greek salad recipe. Including lettuce and reducing all of the veggies smaller offers Greek salad an up to date really feel with out altering any of the core elements and flavors we love!

Huge, daring flavors. What makes Greek salad so scrumptious is all of the BIG flavors. Apart from the lettuce and the cucumbers, there are actually no shrinking violets right here! The Kalamata olives and cheese are salty and briny, purple onions are pungent, the tomatoes are candy and acidic, inexperienced bell pepper provides sharpness, whereas the tangy dressing ties all of it collectively.

Implausible textures. The opposite draw of a Greek salad is the feel. It doubles down on the crispy and crunchy however the cheese provides creaminess, and tomatoes give it bursts of juiciness.

Ingredient Notes

• Romaine lettuce: I take advantage of an entire head of romaine lettuce; in the event you use hearts of romaine, you’ll want to purchase three. Romaine is crisp and durable sufficient to face as much as the opposite elements on this salad.
• Crimson onion: I prefer to slice the onions very thinly in order that they aren’t overpowering. A mandoline slicer helps!
• Tomatoes: You should use cherry or grape tomatoes. I choose the petite tomatoes to a full-size tomato as a result of they launch much less juice into the salad.
• Cucumber: I like to recommend a greenhouse cucumber. It has fewer seeds and the edible peel could be very colourful. Persian or English cucumbers will even work.
• Inexperienced bell pepper: Inexperienced bell pepper has a unbelievable chew to it in comparison with sweeter yellow and purple bell peppers. It’s one of many key elements in a Greek salad.
• Kalamata olives: Purchase pitted olives to save lots of your self the time of pitting them your self.
• Feta cheese: Use a block of feta and lower it into cubes. Crumbled feta sort of dissolves into the salad when tossed with the dressing and we wish these huge daring bites of feta right here as a substitute.
• Dressing: My Greek salad dressing recipe combines olive oil, purple wine vinegar, and garlic with oregano, Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper.

Find out how to Make Greek Salad

Make the dressing. Whisk collectively the elements in a small bowl or liquid measuring cup. (Utilizing a measuring cup is good as a result of the spout makes it straightforward to pour with none accidents!)

Prep the lettuce. After washing the romaine, dry it effectively. Chop it into bite-sized items and dry these in a salad spinner in the event that they’re nonetheless a bit moist. Water is the enemy of salad! It makes the greens wilt and dulls the flavour of the dressing.

Prep the veggies. Rinse the tomatoes, peppers, and cucumber and pat them dry. Halve the tomatoes and chop the peppers and cucumber into bite-sized items. Thinly slice the onion.

Toss. Mix the lettuce with the greens and olives. Toss gently, then add the cubed feta and toss once more. Use a mild contact particularly after you add the feta. You don’t need to crush it into bits.

Costume the salad. Pour the dressing into the bowl and toss yet another time, then serve.

Suggestions and Variations

• Don’t gown the salad till you’re able to serve it. In case you’re making this for a celebration, you’ll be able to serve the dressing on the aspect and let everybody add their very own. If the salad sits within the dressing too lengthy, the lettuce will wilt.
• Add crunch. There’s lots of crisp on this salad however if you’d like some crunch too, pita chips could be unbelievable. Add them as a topping fairly than tossing them with the salad. For a more healthy choice, you can also make your personal crispy roasted chickpeas so as to add on high.
• Make it a meal. Add grilled rooster to this Greek salad to make it extra filling and switch it into an entire meal. In case you’re a fan of tuna, add a can of stable white tuna, drained. Add drained canned chickpeas for plant protein, or skip the lettuce and sub in cooked quinoa.

Serving Options

Meat. Serve the salad as a aspect with marinated rooster. Use Greek rooster marinade to infuse it with taste earlier than grilling or baking. Greek meatballs could be good alongside this salad, too, with creamy tzatziki sauce.

Seafood. Lemon pepper shrimp or lemon salmon with dill each have flavors that will pair effectively with Greek salad.

Pita bread. Serve pita bread on the aspect to scoop up any leftover dressing and feta out of your salad. We love this straightforward flatbread recipe! Serve it with selfmade hummus or garlicky tahini sauce in the event you like.

If doable, retailer the Greek salad and dressing individually. This can lengthen the storage lifetime of your salad. Saved individually, the dressing will final for every week and the salad will final for two to three days. Whisk the dressing earlier than utilizing it and, if it’s solidified within the fridge, let it come to room temperature for 10 to fifteen minutes.

In case you’ve already dressed the salad, it is going to hold in an hermetic container for as much as a day. You’ll be able to add just a few handfuls of freshly chopped romaine to revive among the crispness.

• In a small bowl or measuring cup, whisk collectively dressing elements till well-combined (emulsified).

  ¼ cup further virgin olive oil, 3 tablespoons purple wine vinegar, 1 garlic clove, minced or pressed, ½ teaspoon dried oregano, ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, ⅛ teaspoon coarse floor black pepper, extra to style

• Rinse the romaine lettuce; dry as a lot as doable. Chop into bite-sized items. If the lettuce nonetheless appears moist, spin it in a salad spinner to take away any extra water.

  1 head romaine lettuce

• Add the lettuce, onion, tomatoes, cucumber, inexperienced bell pepper, and olives to a big salad bowl or mixing bowl. Toss gently to combine. Add the feta and toss once more gently.

  1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved, 1 greenhouse cucumber, chopped, 1 inexperienced bell pepper, chopped, ½ cup Kalamata olives, pitted and halved, 4 oz. feta cheese, lower into cubes, ½ purple onion, very thinly sliced

• Add the dressing to the salad instantly earlier than serving; toss till well-coated with dressing.

• Romaine: We use an entire head of romaine. In case you use romaine lettuce hearts, you’ll want a bundle of three hearts, as a result of they’re smaller.
• Onions: To scale back the sturdy taste of the onions, do this professional trick. Marinate the sliced onions within the dressing whilst you prep the remainder of the salad. This can take the chew out of the flavour.
• Make forward: In case you don’t plan to serve this salad instantly, refrigerate the dressing and salad individually. Costume the salad instantly previous to serving.

Serving: 1cup, Energy: 148kcal, Carbohydrates: 9g, Protein: 4g, Fats: 12g, Saturated Fats: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fats: 1g, Monounsaturated Fats: 7g, Ldl cholesterol: 13mg, Sodium: 381mg, Potassium: 453mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 4g, Vitamin A: 7519IU, Vitamin C: 29mg, Calcium: 119mg, Iron: 1mg

Vitamin data is routinely calculated, so ought to solely be used as an approximation.

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