Greek salads are not only fresh and packed with healthy produce, they make a great entry into a Greek-based dinner. The important thing is to use fresh produce and make the dressing ahead of time so it has a chance to marinate and emulsify. You will notice that I added nonGreek avocado as an option. Being from the Southwest, I have come to appreciate that everything taste better with avocado so I leave it up to you regarding whether you want to be slightly avant-garde or purest. While following the recipe, pay attention to how different produce is managed, it amounts to a small difference that makes a big difference in taste and presentation.
Ingredients
- Salad
- 4 Roma tomatoes – diced
- 1 English cucumber – peeled, de-seeded, and sliced into half moons
- 1/2 small red onion – finely diced, then rinsed and drained
- 1 bell pepper (green or yellow) – diced
- 6 oz. Kalamata or black olives – drained and sliced
- 4 oz. crumbled feta cheese (~1 cup)
- 1 avocado (not too soft) – diced, optional
- Dressing
- 6 TBL olive oil
- 1.5 TBL fresh lemon juice
- 1 TBL red wine vinegar
- 1.5 TBL fresh parsely – finely minced
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 clove garlic (large) – minced
- 3/4 tsp honey
- Salt, to taste
Process
- Mise en Place – measure and prepare your ingredients prior to starting.
- Make sure to drain the olives and to rinse the onions to remove the spicy edge. Also, use a firm avocado so it can hold its dice rather than mushing when you toss the salad (hard to know until you gut it open but good luck).
- Make Dressing
- Mix all of the ingredients and whisk well to blend
- Season with salt to taste and store in refrigerator until ready to use.
- Make Salad
- Add tomatoes, cucumber, onion, bell pepper, olives, avocado and feta to a salad bowl.
- Drizzle dressing over top and gently toss to evenly coat just before serving.
