Greek Salad

Here is my signature Greek salad recipe, based on the most delicious Greek salad I've ever had. It was served to us in Santorini, Greece, and I am hoping that I will get a chance to go back one day, if only to taste this little piece of heaven again. My recipe is close, but it can't compare to a Greek salad made in Greece, using fresh Greek ingredients. This serves 4 people, albeit large portions.

Greek Salad

Ingredients

4 medium tomatoes (I used vine-ripened)

1 large green pepper

1 medium English cucumber

1 small red onion

lots of feta cheese, cut into large blocks or strips, not crumbled

1 tbsp Greek spice mix (see below for recipe)

20-24 fresh kalamata olives

1-2 tbsp capers

extra virgin olive oil

balsamic vinegar

Cut the first four ingredients into bite-size pieces. Be careful not to cut them too small. You want a chunky salad with lots of texture and colour. Combine in a large bowl.

Place blocks or strips of feta cheese in a pattern on top of the vegetables, then sprinkle all with the spice mix. Sprinkle the olives and capers on top to finish the look.

Allow individuals to scoop their own salad and then drizzle with as much olive oil and vinegar as each prefers.

Warning: this salad looks appetizing, and is fresh and delicious. It may tempt you to take plenty and you will want to eat a lot of it. But be careful! It is very filling. Start with a smaller portion and see how you feel before loading up your plate. Trust me.

Pear, Feta and Walnut Salad with Endive and Pea Shoots

I also made a salad tonight that was originally inspired by Rachael Ray, but I made several changes to suit my tastes and the availability of produce at my local stores. So I'm going to call this an original recipe, but give credit to Rachael Ray for the inspiration and the initial idea (you can check out her recipe here - the rest of the meal depicted there is delicious too, by the way).

Here's my recipe, which serves four:

Pear, Feta and Walnut Salad with Endive and Pea Shoots

1 Anjou Pear, sliced into wedges

1/2-3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

1/2 cup toasted walnuts

2 Belgian endive, cut width-wise into small sections

1 package or bunch of pea shoots

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

pepper to taste

Mix the endive and pea shoots together and separate onto four salad plates. On the bed of greens, arrange pear wedges in a funky design of your choice (I like a starburst pattern). Sprinkle some feta and then some walnuts over the pears and greens. Mix the lemon juice, olive oil, and pepper by shaking them in a small closed container. Immediately drizzle over the salad. (If you like lots of dressing on your salad, double the recipe - this makes about a tbsp of dressing per serving.) Eat right away. It tastes so good you don't want to wait - trust me!

Tip & Trick: You can use bottled lemon juice but it really doesn't taste the same. One lemon will give you approximately 2 tbsp of juice. If it's particularly seedy or full of rind, a good trick is to strain it through some cheese cloth before you mix it with the olive oil.

Note: The picture here shows the salad made with baby spinach because that's what I had in the house tonight, which is also delicious. However, I like the endive and pea shoots better as they just add a unique flavour that the spinach doesn't have.