chopped greek salad with garlicky croutons

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tomatoes salads olives bread lemon croutons arugula vinaigrette cucumbers salad greens

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This recipe reminds me of a salade nicoise (the recipe for my salade nicoise is in the farmers market cookbook, and on the web), but it’s inspired by Greek flavors, and it’s a lot easier to do, since you don’t have to cook the green beans and roast the potatoes. It’s inspired by a recent recipe in Fine Cooking.

It goes without saying that I like to make my croutons out of Rise & Shine Bakery whole-grain sourdough bread! They make such flavorful little morsels—crunchy and delicious. You can leave the anchovies and/or feta cheese out for a vegetarian or dairy-free meal!

garlicky whole-grain croutons

5 slices hearty whole-grain bread
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed in a garlic press
¼ teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mash the garlic with the salt in the bottom of a medium-sized bowl. Stir in the olive oil. Cut the slices of bread into ½” cubes and toss them in the garlicky oil until the oil is thoroughly absorbed and distributed.
2. Spread the bread cubes out on a baking sheet and bake for 15-25 minutes, until the croutons are crispy and golden-brown.

dressing

¼ cup minced shallots
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
¼ teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt
½ teaspoon dried oregano, or 1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano
¼ cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice, or white wine vinegar
½ tin of oil packed anchovies, chopped and mashed (about 4 fillets)—optional
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6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1. In a bowl, whisk together all the vinaigrette ingredients except the oil. Continue whisking while slowly drizzling in the oil.
2. Correct seasoning to taste—if it’s too sharp and lemony, add a bit more salt and/or oil.

salad

6-8 cups of young arugula, washed and dried (or substitute any salad greens)
2 cups fresh tomatoes, diced into ½-inch pieces
1 English cucumber, seeded and diced into ½-inch pieces
½ cup Kalamata olives, pitted and quartered
½ cup feta cheese, diced into ½-inch pieces—optional

1. Compose this salad on a large serving platter. Toss the arugula or salad greens with a couple of spoonfuls of the dressing, and make a bed of lettuce on the platter. Then toss the cucumber with a little more of the dressing. Attractively group each component on top of the greens. Drizzle a little more vinaigrette over all the vegetables, if you like. Sprinkle cracked pepper over the top, and enjoy!!
2. When you’re ready to sit down and eat, drizzle some of the dressing over the leaves and toss, adding more dressing as needed until all the leaves are lightly coated. Sprinkle with the optional Parmesan cheese, toss again to mix, and then toss in the croutons. Sprinkle with pepper and serve right away, before the lettuce wilts.