Summer Greek Salad
This is one of my favorite salads to make in the summer when tomatoes are fresh and I’m looking for ways to incorporate them into everything I eat. I have a tendency to get a little over zealous and grab handfuls of tomatoes at the farmers market only to get home and not have plans on how to eat them all.
Isn’t the word on the street that we should eat a Mediterranean diet to be healthy? If so, make this and consider yourself healthy! It’s fresh, it’s light, it feels guilt free. The tomatoes, cucumber, onions, feta, and lemon all pair together so well you’ll feel like a regular salad connoisseur.
The ingredients actually taste better after they’ve had a chance to marinade in the dressing so it works great if you need to make a dish in advance for a bbq, potluck or packed lunch (you’ll need to increase the amount of ingredients for a crowd). The ingredient list is forgiving if you decide you want more or less of something. I include chicken in the recipe, but it works great as a vegetarian meal if you want to skip the meat or swap for white beans or chickpeas.
Summer Greek Salad Recipe
Makes 1 salad.
Ingredients
Salad Dressing
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 3 tsp red wine vinegar
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Salad
- 2 chicken tenders (or half of a small breast)
- 1 Tbsp fresh parsley leaves, chopped (optional)
- 2 Roma tomatoes
- 1/4 cup cucumber, sliced and quartered
- 1/4 of a red onion, sliced
- 1/4 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and halved (I use jarred olives)
- 2-3 Tbsp feta cheese, cubed
- 1 Tbsp banana peppers (I use jarred peppers)
- 1 lemon, quartered
Directions
Prepare the Salad Dressing
- In a small bowl whisk together, 1 tsp olive oil, 3 tsp red wine vinegar, 1/2 tsp dried oregano, 1/2 tsp kosher salt, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp black pepper. If the dressing tastes too strong of vinegar, add an additional 1 tsp of olive oil and a pinch of sugar.
Prepare the Salad
- Spray 2 chicken tenders or half of a chicken breast with cooking spray and sprinkle with Greek seasoning or salt and pepper on both sides. (I use Greek seasoning from Penzeys Spices). Add the chicken to a grill pan, hot skillet, or a grill and cook on both sides until cooked through (cooking time varies depending on the thickness of the chicken.) Remove chicken from the heat and dice into bite-sized pieces.
- Remove the parsley leaves from the stems and chop the leaves into about 1 Tbsp. (If you don’t have fresh parsley, you can skip it.)
- Wash and cut 2 Roma tomatoes into large bite-sized wedges.
- Slice and quarter the cucumber into about 1/4 cup of bite-sized pieces.
- Peel and thinly slice about 1/4 of a red onion.
- Drain and remove the pits (if necessary) from a handful of Kalamata olives. Slice the olives in half for about 1/4 cup.
- Chop the feta into small cubes, about 2-3 Tbsp.
- In a medium sized bowl, add the tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, olives, feta, chicken and a forkful of banana peppers. Stir to combine.
- Add the salad dressing until all of the ingredients are lightly coated. Squeeze fresh lemon juice and a sprinkle of parsley over the salad.
- Serve chilled or room temperature.
When you are chopping the ingredients for this salad, don’t spend too much time focusing on chopping equally sized pieces. You just need a rough chop with everything being about bite-size.
I mentioned above that if the salad dressing is too vinegar-y for your taste, add a bit more oil or a pinch of sugar to cut through the pungency. The fresh lemon juice at the end also adds a nice balance to the dressing.
Unlike a lettuce salad that wilts if the dressing is added too far in advance before eating, this salad can marinade in the dressing (as much as overnight) before eating it.
Use the Extra Ingredients
The portions of this recipe are for one large salad, but it easily makes two because you’ll have extra of each ingredient. If you don’t want two salads, add the extra ingredients to pasta.
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