If I could, I would probably eat Greek salad every lunchtime during the week. I love it, especially when piled into toasted pittas with some hummus on the side. During the summer months I always have a packet of Feta cheese in the fridge. I do eat so much of it. I love it’s mild, crumbly salty flavour. It works so well in a number of ways.
Tomatoes with a Greek salad dressing
Crumbled over pasta, baked with prawns in a rich tomato sauce, scattered over a plate of roasted vegetables and roasted with butternut squash and chorizo in a savoury tart. Feta also tastes delicious when used as a dip. This is something I have been enjoying recently with home-baked pitta chips and it sparked an idea.
Why not use Feta to make a Greek salad dressing? Not a regular vinaigrette but a smooth herby salty Feta sauce. Almost like a Greek version of a Caesar dressing using flavours that you would associate with a classic Greek salad. Having made and sampled this salad sauce, all I can say is, it is so good you could happily slurp it straight from the spoon. Light, cool and peppermint green. This is my new favourite thing.
I have chosen to use it here with a simple and seasonal tomato and red onion salad but it would work equally well with:
-Robust salad leaves such as Cos/Romaine
-Avocado
-Peeled cucumber
-A sauce in which to dip Falafel
-A dressing for grilled/BBQ chicken, lamb or meaty white fish
-Halloumi cheese
-A sauce for rice/couscous salad
-Grilled vegetable skewers
-Poached salmon
Going back to the salad. The classic tomato & red onion salad. At this time of year tomatoes are really at their peak so I like to buy and use them as often as I can. I am usually found enjoying them with a splash of oil, red wine vinegar, plenty of sea salt and bread which will get soaked in the remaining salad juice. Of course now the Greek salad dressing will be my daily lunch tomato partner. The good thing is you could make up this batch of sauce and it will keep in the fridge for a few days. I keep mine in a sauce bottle reading for squeezing.
As a big tomato fan I am always looking for creative ways to use them up. Here are a few fellow blogger’s recipes which will no doubt ensure you add more than just one punnet to your weekly shopping basket.
Tomato recipe inspiration:
Tomato Bruschetta with soft cheese & smoked sea salt and Tuscan white bean salad – Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary
Cherry tomato spinach & mozzarella pasta bake and Tagliatelle with cherry tomatoes garlic & chilli – A Mummy Too
Sun Blush Tomato mini pizzas – Maison Cupcake
Roasted tomato red pepper & chorizo soup – Fab Food 4 All
One pan tomato spaghetti – Taming twins
Roasted tomato & red pepper pasta sauce – Franglais Kitchen
Roasted tomato and basil filo quiche – Feeding Boys
Frittata with tomatoes spinach & mozzarella – Botanical Baker
Garlic roast tomatoes with whipped Feta – Fishfingers for tea
Simple roast tomato soup – My custard pie
Cherry tomato Feta & basil kebabs and Cherry tomatoes stuffed with chilli & coriander crab – Greedy gourmet
I am also entering my salad into a few blog challenges this month:
Simple and in Season – My Custard Pie & Ren Behan
No Croutons Required – Lisa’s Kitchen & Tinned Tomatoes
Four Season Food – Eat your Veg & Delicieux
Cooking with Herbs – Lavender & Lovage
The Vegetable Palette – Allotment 2 Kitchen
Speedy Suppers – Feeding Boys & Maison Cupcake
Tomatoes with a Greek salad dressing
Ingredients
- For the Greek salad dressing 🙂
- 1 Lemon zest only
- 1/2 Lemon juice only
- 100 g Feta cheese crumbled
- 5 tbsp Natural yoghurt
- 2 tbsp Olive oil
- -A generous handful of fresh herbs I used a mixture of fresh basil and mint roughly chopped,
- Salt & pepper
- For the tomato salad:)
- A mixture of tomatoes chopped roughly into chunks. I used large tomatoes on the vine and small orange and red plum tomatoes
- 1 Small red onion very finely sliced into thin discs
- Olive oil & fresh basil leaves to garnish the salad
Instructions
- For the dressing:)
Place everything in a large jug and blitz the dressing using a hand held blender. Alternatively place everything into a food processor and blend until the dressing is smooth and pale green in colour.
- For the salad:)
Place the chopped tomatoes and sliced onions into a shallow salad bowl,
Pour over half of the dressing and add a little more olive oil for flavour along with the basil leaves. Enjoy with bread!
Keep the other half of the dressing in the fridge to enjoy another day.
Dannii @ Hungry Healthy Happy says
July 4, 2014 at 11:12 amThis sounds amazing. I am totally obsessed with feta at the moment and I always make sure that I have some in my fridge. It goes with everything.
Fuss Free Helen says
July 4, 2014 at 11:47 amGreat tip to have a dressing that will keep in the fridge for a few days – makes life so much easier!
Laura Scott says
July 4, 2014 at 7:34 pmYes I agree Helen, a bottle of dressing is half way to lunch!
Kate @ Veggie Desserts says
July 4, 2014 at 2:52 pmGreek salads always remind me of my (Irish!) Dad who eats them daily in the summer. This version looks just great. I, too, am really going for the tomatoes at the moment – though I’m desperate to get some nice heirloom-type ones in the market.
Laura Scott says
July 4, 2014 at 7:37 pmThanks Kate, I love how many tomatoes we are all able to enjoy over here although I still love eating all the varieties available in France. especially the beef tomatoes.
Deena Kakaya says
July 4, 2014 at 7:22 pmThe simplicity of this dish is so charming, especially given that I, like you, could eat Greek salad any day with just hummus and good flatbread. The dressing is just such a clever idea to get a familiar and wonderful flavour burst x
Laura Scott says
July 4, 2014 at 7:37 pmWe have similar tastes Deena, I am sure you would enjoy this dressing too!
Sarah @tamingtwins says
July 4, 2014 at 8:09 pmThanks so much for the mention Laura. The salad looks utterly delicious. There’s something so special about the gorgeous colours in these Mediterranean salads isn’t there? Just make me want to dive in.
Laura Scott says
July 8, 2014 at 8:59 pmTotally agree Sarah, it is the colours that grab me too but also I do eat far more Mediterranean food in the summer. Greek, Italian and French all the way!
Corina says
July 5, 2014 at 7:24 pmI love feta too but have never put it in a dressing before. I think it’s a great idea.
Laura Scott says
July 8, 2014 at 9:01 pmIt is well worth trying Corina, hope you like it!
Camilla @FabFood4All says
July 6, 2014 at 9:43 amWhat a fabulous idea, I would nevver have thought to put Feta in salad dressing, this sounds really refreshing with the lemon and herbs too:-) Thanks for sharing!
shaheen says
July 6, 2014 at 6:02 pmThis is such a perfect Vegetable Palette entry with fresh tomatoes. I also like the sound of the dressing, with feta cheese. Thank you.
Laura Scott says
July 8, 2014 at 9:03 pmAlways great to be able to enter Shaheen, I do love my veg and salad at this time of year 🙂
[email protected] says
July 6, 2014 at 6:07 pmI love this dressing! Like you I am very fond of a good ol’ Greek salad and this dressing can turn a simple salad into something more than the sum of its parts. I used to live near one of the biggest Greek communities in the US (it is in southern Florida, so at least the weather is similar) and we loved eating in the Greek restaurants there. This dressing looks nicer than what we used to get on our salads. And a local ‘flourish’ was to have a big scoop of mustardy potato salad in the middle. Odd, but good.
Laura Scott says
July 8, 2014 at 9:04 pmI think a good helping of sharp mustardy potato salad would work well here too. Just add a few gherkins!
Nazima says
July 6, 2014 at 11:00 pmI love the flavours in Greek Salad t00 and like how you made a feta dressing, and nice idea to give variations – am sure that dressing will work on SO many different things.
Karen says
July 8, 2014 at 2:49 pmWhat a FAB recipe for Cooking with Herbs, thanks so much for linking up! Karen
Laura Scott says
July 8, 2014 at 9:04 pmThanks Karen x
Sally - My Custard Pie says
July 8, 2014 at 4:53 pmJust the kind of fresh, simple salad with an interesting dressing that appeals to me.
Laura Scott says
July 8, 2014 at 9:05 pmGreat Sally, pleased you like it.
Laura Scott says
July 8, 2014 at 9:01 pmHi Adam, I know this is such the weather to be enjoying salads. Let’s hope it continues!
Thalia @ butter and brioche says
July 10, 2014 at 5:58 amthanks Laura for the awesome recipe… definitely one im adding to my meal planning this week!
Laura Scott says
July 10, 2014 at 7:16 pmThanks very much Thalia, just been to visit your site and love it!
Urvashi says
July 13, 2014 at 5:40 pmI have never thought of using the feta as part of the dressing. Genius idea. Reminds me of the lovely creamy dressings in the US.
Lisa says
July 30, 2014 at 9:39 pmThat sounds wonderful. I adore both Caesar salad and Greek salad. I can just imagine the possibilities. Thanks for sharing with NCR. The roundup will be up in the next day or two.
Sarah, Maison Cupcake says
August 1, 2014 at 11:56 amOh I do love a red onion ring in my salad. Looks very appealing with the fresh green dressing!
Thanks for submitting to Speedy Suppers, the round up is up now at 8 summer salad recipes and I am hosting in August with the theme “picnics”.