Greek Salad.

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Happy Wednesday!
I hope you're having a good one and have gotten back into the swing of normal life after the Eid festivities.
Honestly, it is still weird to be eating during the day. Think it might take me another day or two to get used to. That first breakfast on Eid morning although wonderful, always feels completely wrong! 😆
Now that Ramadan is over, the Summer stretches lazily ahead for us. Hopefully that means plenty more sunshine, long days, and good food. One recipe that I hope to put on repeat this Summer is a traditional Greek salad.
I thought I would share it with you guys too so you can master it and have it feature at any mealtime you like. The salad is so versatile. It can be eaten as a light lunch or dinner but can also hold its own as a great side dish for a barbecue.
In fact, here I did serve it as a side dish with grilled lamb chops. Many of you have requested this recipe and if you saw my Eid post, you'll have seen that we ate masala lamb chops on Eid day. Once I'm back to shooting new blog recipes, I'll be sure to put the chops on the top of my list.

Greek Salad, previously: chickpea greek salad

A Simple List of Ingredients:

1. Cucumber
2. Tomatoes
3. Bell Pepper
4. Red Onion
5. Feta Cheese

6. Black Olives
7. Red Wine Vinegar
8. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
9. Flaky Sea Salt
10. Dried Oregano

Bismillah, let's begin!

Grab your favourite chopping board and knife because we are about to do plenty of chopping! Starting with 1 Cucumber.

Peel the cucumber. Or leave the skin on, if you'd prefer.

Slice the cucumber through the middle and slice each piece into thick half-moon shapes.

Pop them into a mixing bowl.

Next, take 3 ripe Tomatoes. If they're not ripe, there's no point making this salad.

Cut each tomato into wedges.

And, add to the bowl.

Then, take 1 Bell Pepper. I prefer red or yellow but you can use green too.

Slice the pepper into strips.

And, add to your bowl.

Finally, in terms of slicing, peel 1 Red Onion and cut it into thin rings.

Push the rings out of their circles if you prefer.

Add the onion to the mixing bowl.

Along with 16 Pitted Black Olives. Add more, if you're a real olive fan.

Mix up everything together. I had to transfer the salad to a different bowl because the first one was too small.


Next, season the salad with Flaky Sea Salt.

Sprinkle the salt over, to taste. Normal salt will work too. Don't add too much salt because we will be adding salty feta to the salad later.

Then, pour over 60ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil. I'm usually not a fan of it but as it's pretty traditional in a Greek salad, I put it in.

Finally, add in 1 tablespoon Red Wine Vinegar.

Give the salad a good stir.

And, have a taste! Add more olive oil, vinegar and salt, if the salad needs it.

Transfer the salad to a serving platter or dish.

Time for the final ingredients!

The first one is 1 block of Feta Cheese. This is 200g and you can also cube or crumble it up.

According to the original recipe, traditionally the cheese is served as a block on top of the salad. This does make it slightly difficult to serve but is also good in another way, because people who don't like feta can avoid it being in the whole salad.

Sprinkle 1 teaspoon Dried Oregano over the feta.

And, drizzle over more Extra Virgin Olive Oil, to taste.

The Greek salad is a meal in itself especially if served with crusty bread.

But it's also great as a side dish with your favourite grilled meat. Here we ate it with grilled lamb chops and I'm hoping to share the recipe with you all soon.

Greek Salad.

the ultimate Summer side dish or light lunch.

Prep Time: About 15 minutes.

Cook Time: None!

Serves: About 4 people.

Ingredients

1 Cucumber, peeled and cut into thick half-moon slices

3 ripe Tomatoes, cut into wedges

1 Bell Pepper, cut into slices

1 Red Onion, peeled and cut into rings

16 Pitted Black Olives

Flaky Sea Salt, to taste

60ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 tablespoon Red Wine Vinegar

1 block Feta Cheese (200g)

1 teaspoon Dried Oregano

More Extra Virgin Olive Oil, to serve

Mix the salad:
In a large bowl, place the cucumber, tomatoes, bell pepper, red onion, and black olives. Toss then add the salt, olive oil, and vinegar. Mix well.

Serve the salad:
Put the salad onto a serving platter or bowl. Put the feta block on top. Sprinkle the feta with the dried oregano. Drizzle with more olive oil. Serve.

{recipe from my greek dish}

Keep me in your duas please, and enjoy your Greek salad!

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!