Norman's Greek Salad

Norman’s Greek Salad

Do you eat salad with your meals? I always like to have a salad with my dinner. I like blue cheese, Caesar and even a simple vinegar and oil dressing. When I’m out at a restaurant however, the salad I order most often is the Greek salad. I love the mix of feta cheese, kalamata olives, pickled peppers, tomatoes, anchovies and red onions.

My version is a truly authentic Greek salad. How do I know this? Very simple. If I were a Greek who was making salad for dinner, this is how I’d make it, so therefore it has to be authentic. 

Salad dressing

Juice of 1 large lemon

1/4 tsp. cajun seasoning

2 tsp. oregano

1/2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper

1 small garlic clove, smashed and finely minced

≈1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil - the best you can afford

Salad

1/2 head of lettuce, broken up

1 tomato, cut into wedges

1/2 bell pepper cut into strips

1 small red onion, sliced real thin

1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives

1 cup broken feta cheese

6 pickled peppers

6 anchovy fillets

1 small cucumber, sliced very thin (optional)

Fresh ground black pepper

In one of those salad dressing bottles (that come with packet salad dressing mixes) add the lemon juice (without the seeds). Now add the cajun seasoning, oregano, black pepper and garlic. Now on the oil, it depends on how much juice you got out of your lemon and how strong it is. A general rule of thumb is about three parts oil to one part lemon juice. Shake it up real good and taste it. If you need any more lemon juice or olive oil, add it. Also taste it for salt and pepper.

Wash the lettuce and let it drain real good. In a large salad bowl, add the lettuce and all of the other salad ingredients. Hey! Don’t leave the anchovies out! They are needed for a Greek salad. Mix to distribute the vegetables evenly.

Serving

When it is time to serve the salad, shake the dressing real well. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss it to coat everything with the dressing. Immediately serve it on salad plates.

Greek salad goes real well with lamb. How about lamb steaks broiled in a tomato sauce which are served with pasta and smothered in the tomato sauce. That sounds good right? You also need freshly baked bread and good olive oil for dipping. Broiled asparagus helps too. Now open a bottle of Barolo wine and ring the dinner bell!