It’s All Greek to Me

Salad that is.  I love Greek food and, in particular, I adore the briny, rich taste of a Greek salad. This recipe for my Great Greek Salad, is a much-requested menu item in our house.  I usually eat it with grilled chicken that I’ve marinated in some of the Greek viniagrette.  The boys love it with Gyros – usually purchased at the wonderful HolyLand Deli in Minneapolis. (incredibly tasty, but alas not gluten free) and we all have a soft spot for homemade feta burgers – add some feta cheese, a pinch of oregano, salt and pepper to ground beef or turkey, form the patties and fire up the grill.

The foundation of this salad is the feta cheese. I am a huge fan of the feta made here in Minnesota by the talented cheese makers at Singing Hills Dairy.  You can find their excellent handmade cheeses at Twin Cities farmer’s markets and co-ops.  You will also find delicious feta at your local grocery store, co-op or Trader Joe’s. The olives, tomatoes and cucumbers bring great flavor and crunch and the bright, lemony Greek vinaigrette ties it all together for a fantastic meal.

I’m so pleased to round out our happy and healthy January with this fabulous Salad.  It’s makes for a lovely meal and I know you’ll be happy to have it in your recipe collection.

I am having fun in the kitchen playing with new ideas and recipes for February.  We’ll head around the world a bit and I’ll some of my favorite ethnic markets and ingredients with you.  I’d love to hear about your favorite markets and any suggestions, questions or requests you have as we continue on our “real life” cooking  journey.

As always, thank you for joining me and please pass the blog along to anyone you think might enjoy it.

Maggie

Great Greek Salad

This quick, delicious salad is a staple in our house. It pairs beautifully with everything from grilled chicken to pork tenderloin to hamburgers. I also love to bring it to a potluck or dinner party, it's looks beautiful and tastes as good as it looks.

Servings 4 people

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Ingredients

Greek Vinaigrette

• 1 clove garlic
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp dijon mustard
• 2 tbsp lemon juice the juice of 1/2 a lemon
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Greek Salad

• 2 heads romaine lettuce or a bag of chopped romaine
• 1 large cucumber
• 2 large Roma tomatoes
• 4 oz Feta Cheese
• 1/2 cup Kalamata olives Pitted

Instructions

• Press or finely mince the clove of garlic
  
• In a jar with a lid, combine the olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, mustard, oregano, lemon juice, salt and pepper. I like my vinaigrette on the tangy side, so I used one part vinegar to two parts oil - if you like it milder, use 1 part vinegar to 3 parts oil
  
• Put the lid on the jar and shake like crazy - be sure all the ingredients have emulsified (a fancy term for fully combined)
  
• Chop, wash and dry the lettuce
  
• Place the lettuce in a large bowl
  
• Peel and chop the cucumbers - Chop the vegetable and Feta pieces approximately the same size for this salad - it looks great and balances the flavor in each serving
  
• Seed the tomatoes - I used Roma's in this recipe because they were the best option for a MN winter - when I make this salad in the summer, I use the prettiest fresh tomatoes I can find
  
• Chop the tomatoes
  
• Chop the feta cheese into small squares - Any good Feta cheese will taste wonderful in this salad. I love to use a local Feta made by Singing Hills Dairy here in MN
  
• Add the cucumbers, tomatoes, Feta and olives to the salad bowl - doesn't that look fabulous?
  
• Give the vinaigrette a shake and add half to the salad and mix well - taste and add more as needed
  
• Plate the salad serve. We often serve this salad with grilled or baked chicken, pork tenderloin or hamburgers - it's incredibly versatile