Greek-Style Salad
Difficulty Level Easy
Until my local vegetable lady starts selling her produce, I'm stuck with buying vegetables from the grocery store in our very little cottage town. That means produce from all over the world, despite the fact that most of it is being grown right in our Province. So when I was back in the city for a couple of days, I headed to my local organic market and loaded up on Ontario fruits and vegetables.
I don't think it's too much of an exaggeration to say that I went a little overboard. It wasn't until I got back to the cottage and started unloading my groceries that I realized the extent of my madness. I had mushrooms, green beans, peas, red potatoes, cauliflower, corn, lettuce, asparagus, Swiss chard, beets, celery, carrots, garlic scapes, red bell peppers, broccoli, a basket of tomatoes, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries and cherries. Enough for a family of, say, ten.
I originally thought I would make a nice little Greek salad, but I expanded it to include vegetables that aren't normally added. I put in some chick peas for some protein. It turned out to be quite interesting to eat, because every bite had different vegetables in it. This is a very easy salad to make, and you can add anything you like that you have on hand. It would be a great picnic salad, too. This recipe is approximate, so feel free to substitute.
INGREDIENTS
| 6 | small potatoes, cut in half |
| 10 | cauliflower florets |
| 10 | broccoli florets |
| 10 | green beans, in 1" pieces |
| 1 ounce | olive oil |
| 6 | asparagus stalks, in 1" pieces |
| 5 | mushrooms, sliced |
| ½ | cucumber, diced |
| 1 | tomato, diced |
| 10 | kalamata olives |
| 1 tbsp | capers |
| 2 ounces | feta cheese |
| ½can | chick peas, drained and rinsed |
| 2 ounces | extra virgin olive oil |
| 2 tbsp | red wine vinegar |
| 1 tbsp | Dijon mustard |
| 1 tsp | thyme |
| salt and pepper to taste | |
PREPARATION:
- In a large pot of boiling water add potatoes and cook until just tender, about 15 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and rinse under cold water. Repeat with cauliflower, broccoli and green beans. If you want to cut down on time, put them all in the pot at the same time and just remove each vegetable as it is just tender. Once they are drained, place the cooked vegetables into a large serving bowl.
- In a skillet, heat olive oil and add asparagus, stirring occasionally. Cook until just tender, about 5 minutes. Remove asparagus and add to serving bowl. Add mushrooms to skillet and cook until browned, about 10 minutes. Add to serving bowl.
- Add cucumber, tomato, olives, capers, and chick peas to the serving bowl. Crumble the feta cheese into the bowl.
- In a small bowl whisk the extra virgin olive oil, vinegar, mustard, thyme and salt and pepper. Pour over vegetables and mix well, making sure to coat them all. You may need to add more dressing, depending on how wet you want the salad.
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