Introduction
Welcome to Jessica Gavin’s Greek Salad Recipe! This classic Mediterranean salad is a delicious and healthy way to enjoy a variety of fresh vegetables and flavors. This recipe is easy to make and can be served as a side dish or a light meal. It’s a great way to get your daily dose of vegetables and is packed with flavor. The combination of crisp cucumbers, juicy tomatoes, salty feta cheese, and tangy olives is sure to please. Enjoy!
Greek Salad Recipe – Jessica Gavin
This Greek salad recipe is a classic combination of tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, feta cheese, olives, and a simple homemade dressing. It’s a great side dish for any meal, or can be served as a light lunch. The flavors of the vegetables and feta cheese are enhanced with a few simple ingredients like oregano, garlic, and red wine vinegar.
Ingredients
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 cucumber, peeled and diced
- 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
- 1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, feta cheese, and olives.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, red wine vinegar, oregano, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
- Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combine.
- Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 4 hours.
This wholesome Greek salad recipe is simple to organize with restaurant-quality outcomes. It’s a mixture of crisp greens and pickled onions tossed in a light-weight and tangy home made purple wine vinegar dressing.
Desk of Contents
Among the finest methods to begin a meal is with a refreshing Greek salad. Cucumbers and lettuce, juicy tomatoes, briny olives, and creamy feta cheese all come collectively for the proper stability of style and texture. Conventional recipes simply use sliced onions, however I pickle them to boost their taste, making the style extra fascinating.
The salad will not be full with no tasty purple wine vinegar dressing to enhance the colourful veggies. A vivid and tangy mixture of elements combine with extra-virgin olive oil so as to add richness to every chunk. This salad additionally pairs properly with juicy items of grilled hen or salmon for an entire meal.
Pickle the onions
You’ll usually discover massive slices topped on a standard Greek salad. Though colourful and intense, there’s a straightforward strategy to infuse extra taste. I lower the purple onions into ⅛-inch thick rings, then soak the items in a purple wine vinegar and honey combination.
The pickling resolution takes the cruel chunk out of the onions and provides a pleasantly tangy style. You may omit the sweetener if desired, though it has a pleasant stability of flavors. The method solely takes quarter-hour, and by the point you end prepping the opposite elements, it’s prepared. You may even make them a day forward to avoid wasting time.
Make a dressing
I exploit a mix of purple wine vinegar, lemon juice and zest, minced garlic, honey, Dijon mustard, and dried oregano for the bottom. Not solely does the mustard add a lovely spicy taste, nevertheless it additionally acts as an emulsifying agent to maintain the dressing from separating immediately.
To make an adequately emulsified salad dressing, it’s vital to slowly add the olive oil whereas vigorously whisking it into the vinegar combination. This method creates tiny fats droplets that droop in an oil-in-water emulsion, leading to a thickened consistency that simply clings onto the leaves. This dressing is a semi-permanent combination, so over time, it should separate. If not serving instantly, whisk it proper earlier than you’re able to eat.
Lettuce choice and preparation
I exploit romaine lettuce for its distinction of crisp-tender inexperienced leaves on the skin and agency lighter inexperienced ribs within the heart. Grocery shops promote them as entire heads or hearts with the outer leaves eliminated. Minimize the lettuce down into items which can be simple to seize with a fork, about ¾-inch.
The bigger dimension prevents the leaves from wilting an excessive amount of when tossed with the acidic dressing. You may as well use different sorts of lettuce like little gem, butterhead, loose-leaf, child spinach, or a mix for selection.
Add flavorful mix-ins
It’s all about including the freshest produce. It’s greatest to make use of vine-ripened tomatoes so as to add sweetness to the flavour profile and lower them into hearty wedges. I exploit English cucumbers for his or her skinny, tender pores and skin and tiny edible seeds. Chopped inexperienced bell peppers add an earthy taste, however pepperoncini’s make a pickled candy and gentle substitute.
Kalamata olives add a salty style. Nevertheless, inexperienced or black olives are good swaps. Feta cheese provides a creamy aspect to the dish. I lower them into small cubes so that they don’t break down an excessive amount of when mixing, they usually have a extra strong burst of taste in comparison with crumbled.
Earlier than serving
I prefer to toss half of the dressing within the salad and serve the remaining on the facet so visitors can add extra to their liking. This quantity provides the French dressing a light-weight coat to taste the elements with out turning soggy and wilted. For a flowery presentation, switch to a pleasant serving bowl and garnish with extra cheese and greens.
Serve this with
FAQ
It’s usually a easy mixture of purple wine vinegar, minced garlic and Dijon mustard for spice, lemon juice for acidity, dried oregano for herbaceous notes, and extra-virgin olive oil for richness. This acidic combination creates a thickened, tangy French dressing that adheres to the elements.
This Greek salad is the proper strategy to begin a meal! It tastes even higher when you make it forward of time to permit the greens to sit back. They’re very strong, so that you don’t have to fret concerning the elements turning into soggy or wilted. Nevertheless, it’s best to attend so as to add the dressing if not served throughout the similar day for the crispest lettuce texture.
I’m an enormous fan of pairing this salad with grilled hen skewers, baked salmon, or lamb kabobs. You may even add sliced items of meat to make it an entree salad. Serve alongside a scorching bowl of lentil soup or Greek pasta salad.
Good thing about soaking onions in vinegar
Until you’re an enormous fan of uncooked onions, one strategy to make the flavour extra fascinating is a fast vinegar and honey soak. Marinating within the resolution mellows out the sturdy sulfur notes because of the acids within the vinegar. In flip, barely candy and tangy flavors infuse into the onions.
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Dressing (makes about ¾ cup)
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In a small bowl, whisk collectively 1/4 cup purple wine vinegar and a couple of tablespoons of honey. Add the sliced purple onions and permit them to take a seat for a minimum of quarter-hour. Drain properly earlier than including to the salad.
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Rinse the romaine hearts beneath cool working water. Wash the floor and between the leaves to take away any dust and particles. Shake properly to take away moisture and dry utilizing clear towels. Chop the lettuce into about ¾-inch items yielding about 8 cups.
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In a big bowl, add the lettuce. Prime with cucumbers, tomatoes, inexperienced bell pepper, drained purple onions, kalamata olives, and feta cheese.
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In a medium bowl, whisk collectively purple wine vinegar, lemon zest, lemon juice, dijon mustard, 1 teaspoon honey (if utilizing), minced garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper.
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Slowly drizzle the olive oil into the dressing combination, repeatedly and vigorously whisking till you obtain a thickened dressing—season with salt and pepper to style. If not serving immediately, whisk once more proper earlier than including to the salad as it could separate over time.
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Proper earlier than serving, drizzle half of the dressing over the salad, gently toss to coat. Serve the remaining on the facet. Garnish with extra greens and cheese as desired.
- Serving Measurement: About 1 cup
- Salad Yield: About 8 cups
- Dressing Yield: About ¾ cups
- Make-Forward: The salad elements will be ready 1 day upfront and saved in an hermetic container within the fridge. It’s greatest to make the dressing the identical day. You may pickle the onions 2 days upfront.
- Storing: Retailer salad in an hermetic container within the fridge for as much as 1 day because the lettuce will wilt as soon as tossed with the dressing.
- Onion Choice: Omit the honey for a much less candy style.
- Make it Keto: Omit the honey from the pickles and dressing, or use a zero-calorie sweetener like stevia, monk fruit, or erythritol.
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Vitamin Information
Greek Salad
Quantity Per Serving
Energy 210
Energy from Fats 162
% Each day Worth*
Fats 18g28%
Saturated Fats 4g20%
Polyunsaturated Fats 2g
Monounsaturated Fats 11g
Ldl cholesterol 13mg4%
Sodium 449mg19%
Potassium 236mg7%
Carbohydrates 10g3%
Fiber 2g8%
Sugar 7g8%
Protein 3g6%
Vitamin A 4410IU88%
Vitamin C 18mg22%
Calcium 101mg10%
Iron 1mg6%
* P.c Each day Values are based mostly on a 2000 calorie food plan.
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