Greek Feta Salad

This is one of my favorite salads to make.  It is SO good and rich-tasting, with all of those Greek flavors coming together.  I first spotted this recipe on my friend, Eating, Etc's, blog, back in 2008 when we first moved here, and made it shortly afterward.  We LOVED it!!  It is just so flavorful.  It's not hard to make, either.  I left the onions out so my kids would be more likely to eat it, and my husband and I had them "on the side" to mix into our own portions.  The last two times I've made this (including last night), we've served it with grilled naan bread.  When doing this, we use the salad as more of a spread for the naan bread.  Last night, this was the main dish of our dinner, and we had sliced sweet red bell peppers on the side (great for dipping into the salad!)  I really, really loved this meal. 

My changes last night:  I used an 8 oz. block of feta, instead of crumbled, and just mashed it up with a fork.  I omitted the water, and used the juice of 1 lemon (almost 4 TBS).  I used 3/4 of a huge Enlish cucumber, and didn't peel most of it.  I also shredded it in my food processor and it worked well.  I only used 1/4 of a small red onion, and I only had a 4 oz. can of chopped (as opposed to sliced) olives on hand, so I used that.  Sliced olives definitely look better, though.  I only had fresh basil on hand, so I used that instead of the other herbs, and I used whole cherry tomatoes instead of chopped.  Grape tomatoes would have worked even better. 

Note: I made this again 5/2014 and added new photos.  We always serve it with fresh grilled naan- so good!

Greek Feta Salad

adapted from Eating, Etc.

8oz crumbled feta

1/4c extra-virgin olive oil

3-4T fresh lemon juice (one lemon, juiced)
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 cucumber, partially peeled & shredded
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
4oz sliced (or chopped) pitted Kalamatas or black olives
1T each fresh mint, dill, basil, &/or parsley, finely chopped
1-1/2c tomatoes, chopped (or cherry tomatoes)
4c mixed greens, optional, for serving

1) Squeeze excess moisture from grated cucumber. (I used my hands to do this, then let it drain in a colander for 30 minutes). 

2) In a medium bowl, mash together the feta, olive oil, lemon juice, & black pepper.

3) Add the cucumber, onion, olives, & herbs and mix well.

4) Fold in the tomatoes.

5) Serve on a bed of mixed greens, or with pita or naan bread.

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **