Healthy and Delicious Salad
Now that the warm weather has arrived, I want to post a couple of salads that are delicious, filling and healthy. I recently returned from a trip to Greece and Turkey and was reminded how much I love Greek food, including a traditional Greek salad. It’s so healthy and easy to make at home, and it’s tasty and there is much flexibility in the preparation.
I deliberately am not specifying amounts for your salad. You can make this for a single serving or for a group. Simply chop and add all of the ingredients into a bowl, drizzle with olive oil, lemon juice or balsamic vinegar, sea salt and dried oregano and voila, you have the perfect salad. Should you wish to do more with this salad, you can add avocado, sliced red pepper, lettuce, and/or anything else that suits your fancy. Since coming home from Greece, I have been making one almost every day for lunch. I hope you enjoy!
Feta cheese diced into 1/2 inch squares. I like the sheep’s milk feta from Israel that I find at Trader Joe’s which seems to me to have a milder taste than cow’s milk feta. Any kind of feta will do!
Cucumbers, sliced. I prefer the small organic Armenian cucumbers or the long slender Japanese cucumbers which can usually be found at the Farmer’s market. And if you can find the skinless pale green Armenian cucumbers, even better. These types have fewer seeds and excellent taste. Otherwise, any English cucumber or regular garden cucumber will be just fine.
Tomatoes, diced or in wedges (personal preference) You can use any type of tomato, preferably organic and home grown or Farmer’s market for best flavor.
Black olives - I like the pitted Moroccan oil cured olives as they remind me of the olives my Lebanese grandmother used to make. Otherwise, a Greek kalamata olive is perfect.
Red onion - sliced thin
Oregano - dried and crumbled into salad
Sea Salt
Good quality extra virgin olive oil
Fresh squeezed lemon or balsamic vinegar, whichever you prefer. Personally, I like the fresh, clean taste of the lemon which is purifying for the body.
