Ingredients:
(I recommend using organic whenever possible)
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
Balsamic glaze - just enough for a good drizzle
Tip: if you don’t have balsamic glaze, leave a bowl of regular balsamic out overnight in a bowl ...voila it thickens beautifully
Grated zest and juice of 1 medium to large lemon
1 teaspoon of honey
1 teaspoon of fennel pollen (goes great with a wide array of food)
1 teaspoon of dried oregano
Pink Himalayan sea salt & fresh ground pepper
1/4 cup of extra-virgin olive oil
Tip: Put olive oil bottle in refrigerator, if it solidifies it’s ‘real’ olive oil - if not, it’s not! I learned this in a cooking class recently and was shocked that my favorite ‘organic’ extra virgin olive oil did NOT solidify.
1 cup of black kalamata olives
1 small red onion
5 Persian cucumbers
Mini heirloom tomatoes
Use a mixed medley of yellow, green and red or just red if you prefer
Use 1 to 2 containers depending on amount of people being served
1 yellow bell pepper
1 4 ounce block of Greek feta cheese, packed in brine.
I use Trader Joe’s - it has two blocks. I use one to crumble into salad and set one on top sprinkled with oregano for presentation.
Directions:
In a small bowl combine the white wine vinegar, a drizzle of red balsamic glaze, lemon zest and juice, honey, fennel pollen, dried oregano, 1/4 to 1/2 tsp of salt (feta is salty so season to your taste) and 1/4 tsp of pepper. Whisk in the olive oil in a slow steady stream until emulsified.
Next ...
Slice the olives into small rounds - like cutting onion rings!
Finely dice the red onion
Take a peeler and make alternating stripes on the cucumbers (looks great!) and slice into rounds then cut them into quarters
Cut the tomatoes into quarters as well unless they are very small, then cut in half.
Cut the yellow bell pepper into strips and then into smaller squares
Put the olives, onions and veggies into a large bowl.
When you are ready to serve the salad, drain the feta cheese and crumble as much as you desire into the salad. Add the dressing, toss and add a chunk of feta on the top of the salad sprinkled with oregano.
April/May/June 2017 | ElementsForAHealthierLife.com | 97