greek salad with oregano-laced vinaigrette
The quintessential Greek salad: fresh greens tossed
with Greek olives, onions, bell peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, and feta cheese,
in a delicious vinaigrette. The salad greens can be a packaged salad mix or your
favorite lettuces—on their own or combined with baby spinach leaves and some
arugula. Spinach fans, try this with all baby spinach leaves. The dressing keeps
for weeks in a tightly lidded jar in the refrigerator and is wonderful on any
kind of cooked vegetables, especially broccoli and green beans.
oregano-laced
vinaigrette
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
¼ teaspoon minced garlic (about half a small clove)
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Heaping 1/8 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons olive oil
salad
1 pound salad greens, washed and thoroughly dried (or use
three 5-ounce packages)
About 12 cherry tomatoes, halved
1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and sliced
1 medium bell pepper (any color), diced
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
About 12 Kalamata olives
Freshly ground black pepper
1. To make the dressing, combine
the vinegar, garlic, mustard, oregano, and salt in a smallish bowl. Whisk until
thoroughly combined, then continue whisking as you drizzle in the olive oil.
When all the olive oil is incorporated, set the dressing aside. (Or you can put
all the ingredients in a small jar with a tight-fitting lid and just shake it
emphatically.)
2. Combine the salad greens,
tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, onion, and ½ cup of the feta in a large bowl,
and toss to mix well.
3. Just before serving, whisk the
dressing—or shake it, if it’s in a jar—to recombine, and add about half of it to
the salad. Toss to coat, and give it a taste. You might want to add the rest of
the dressing right now, or bring it to the table (along with the pepper mill)
for people to add more to their own portions. Top with the remaining ½ cup feta,
the olives, and a few grinds of black pepper, and serve immediately.
GET
CREATIVE
- Use high-quality olive oil in the dressing.
- Make the dressing with a fancier variety of wine vinegar (such as sherry vinegar or Spanish Moscatel vinegar).
- Toss in a few tablespoons of chopped mint leaves.
- Use a “designer” flavored mustard in the dressing.
- Serve with toasted pita wedges.
- Drape a few whole anchovies over the top of the assembled salad.
- Top the assembled salad with some flaked canned tuna (especially good with tuna packed in olive oil).
- Toss in a handful or two of canned black beans, white beans, or chickpeas (rinsed and drained).
- Top with a scattering of chopped lightly toasted walnuts.
- Make this vegan by omitting the feta cheese.
Makes 4 servings (possibly more, if you add
a lot from the get creative list)
Pasta salad is perfect party or picnic food, and it
packs well for bag lunches, too. While the pasta cooks, put the other
ingredients together, so they’re ready to dress the pasta as soon as it’s cooked
and drained. The heat from the pasta will slightly cook the garlic and onion,
and will partially melt the cheese, causing it to stick to the pasta (which adds
a layer of texture beyond what you’d get if you just sprinkled cold cheese onto
cold pasta). After the dressed pasta has cooled down, you add an assortment of
diced vegetables, and possible other goodies, and then either serve it at room
temperature or chill it (in a tightly covered container for up to 3 days) and
serve it cold. So factor in cooling and possible chilling time when you make
this dish.
Salt for the pasta water
¾ pound fusilli (corkscrew), small penne, or orecchiette
(“little ears”) pasta
5 tablespoons olive oil
¾ teaspoon minced garlic (about 1 medium clove)
¾ cup very finely minced red onion
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
¾ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 medium bell pepper (any color), diced
Half a medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and
diced
1. Put a large pot of cold water
to boil over high heat, and add a tablespoon of salt. Place a large colander in
the sink. When the water boils, add the pasta, keeping the heat high. Cook for
the amount of time recommended on the package, tasting a piece of pasta toward
the end of the suggested time to be sure it is not getting overcooked. When it
is just tender enough to bite into comfortably but not
yet mushy, dump the water-plus-pasta into the colander. Shake emphatically to
drain.
2. While the pasta is cooking,
combine the olive oil, garlic, onion, Parmesan, vinegar, salt, and black pepper
in a large bowl (a wide, shallow one works well) and whisk to blend. As soon as
the hot pasta is thoroughly drained, add it to the bowlful of dressing, stirring
to coat all the pasta. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
3. Add the bell pepper and
cucumber, and mix gently but thoroughly. Serve at room temperature, or chill and
serve cold.
GET
CREATIVE
- Use other pasta shapes (bowties, campanelle, shells) in place of some or all of the fusilli. Or try rainbow fusilli (a mix of white, red, and green; often sold in bulk bins) for extra color.
- Make this with high-quality olive oil.
- Whisk a teaspoon or two of mayonnaise into the olive oil mixture.
- Just before serving, toss in a generous handful of chopped flat-leaf parsley and/or about 25 basil leaves, cut into strips.
- When adding the bell pepper and cucumber, toss in any of the
following:
- -Up to 1 cup tiny cherry tomatoes (or regular-sized ones, cut in half)
- -Up to ½ cup small pitted olives (any kind you like)
- -Up to ½ cup grated or minced carrot, celery, or radishes, for crunch
- -Up to 1 cup raw or leftover cooked vegetables (such as zucchini, green beans, or peas)
- -Up to ¼ cup minced scallion (white and tender green parts)
- -¼ cup lightly toasted pine nuts or chopped toasted walnuts
- -Cubes of mild cheese (fontina, mozzarella)
- -Crumbles of crumbly cheese (feta, goat cheese, ricotta salata)
- Make this vegan by using eggless noodles and omitting the Parmesan cheese.
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