“Greek To Me” Garden Salad

This is our favorite way of making an authentic Greek Salad. We take a wee bit of poetic license with the classic rendition by using a sweet yellow bell pepper rather than a green one, soaking the red onion slivers in red wine vinegar to mellow their raw pungency, and heightening all the garden-fresh flavors with a generous sprinkling of our herbaceous Greek To Me seasoning blend. The result is a gorgeously refreshing and healthy vegetable salad that we crave several times a week throughout the summer season.

 

INGREDIENTS:

  • ½ medium red onion, thinly sliced
  • ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
  • 4 medium-size vine-ripened summer tomatoes
  • 1 ½ garden cucumbers, unwaxed, about 8 to 9 inches long
  • 1 small yellow bell pepper
  • 15 kalamata olives, pitted and halved
  • 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 4 to 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, preferably from Greece
  • 2 teaspoons Greek To Me seasoning blend
  • Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
  • 6-ounce block of feta cheese, cut into 3 or 4 triangular wedges
  • 1 tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh oregano, for garnishing

 

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Twenty minutes before assembling the salad, combine the red onion slices with ¼ cup of the red wine vinegar in a shallow dish. Let stand for 20 minutes.
  2. Core the tomatoes and cut them into 1-to- 1 ½-inch wedges. Peel theskin from cucumbers completely or in stripes, if desired. Cut the cucumbers in half lengthwise and then slice into ½-inch- thick semi-circles. Stem and remove the seeds from the yellow pepper and then slice into thin rings. Place all of the vegetables in a large, shallow serving dish. Drain the red onion slices, add to the bowl, and toss all gently together until evenly combined. Scatter the olives evenly over the top.
  3. Drizzle the vegetables with the remaining 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, and 4 tablespoons olive oil. Season with the Greek To Me seasoning blend and salt and pepper to taste. Taste and add a bit more olive oil, if too acidic.
  4. Arrange the feta wedges on top of the vegetables and scatter the coarsely chopped fresh oregano over the salad. Drizzle a bit more olive oil directly over the feta wedges and serve at once.

 

 

Written by Sarah Leah Chase

Sarah Leah Chase moved to Nantucket, Massachusetts, as a year-round resident in 1980 and opened a specialty food shop and catering business called Que Sera Sarah, which soon became an island institution.

 

Sarah develops recipes and concepts for her husband Nigel’s specialty food company, Coastal Goods. She lives with her family on Cape Cod, where she enjoys oystering and gardening as much as cooking.