BIG Greek Salad
You may be thinking that this is a spin off of the “big, fat Greek wedding” but it’s not. Yes, it is a real Greek salad but the reason it’s called a BIG salad is personal to me.
My well meaning step father DonDon never ate a salad as a main dish. In his mind a salad should always be eaten on it’s own. A small starter before dinner. The way he was raised a meal was always an event. All three square were eaten with feet under a table, placemats and cloth napkins, the “real” silver flatware, small servings or courses and fine wine, except no wine at breakfast. A salad was not a meal. It was a starter. So the way we now eat salads as an entrée was not acceptable to him.
Whenever my mother or myself ordered or ate an entrée salad he commented on the “BIG” salad. “Were we going to really eat a salad that BIG?” The answer DonDon is YES and we are going to put some protein on top and call it dinner.
I admit that I will serve it in a pretty bowl on placemats with cloth napkins at the dining room table. The influence of my elders is not wasted. We do eat most of our meals with our feet under the formally set table and by candlelight. This would please my DonDon except for the “BIG” salad!
BIG Greek Salad
Ingredients
Dressing
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 5 oz plain Greek yogurt
- 2 tbsp finely chopped cucumber
- 1 tsp oregano or Italian seasoning
- ¼ tsp dill, dried or fresh
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp milk
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp finely chopped onion, optional
Salad
- 2 small heads of fresh Romaine lettuce, rough chopped
- 1 cup marinated artichokes, see recipe link in text
- ¼ cup kalamata olives, pitted and sliced
- ¼ cup sliced pepperoncini
- ¼ cup sliced roasted red peppers
- ½ cup diced fresh tomatoes
- ½ cup diced cucumbers
- 2 oz feta cheese, crumbled from block I never use the crumbled because it is drier than the block.
Instructions
- Mix all dressing ingredients together at least a 2 hours ahead of time. Cover and let it marry in the fridge until time to serve.
- Place all ingredients except cheese in large salad bowls and put in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. I do this so the salad is ice cold and lettuce crisp.
- When time to serve, add cheese and dressing. Optional perfectly seared salmon or grilled chicken breast on top. See recipe link in text for salmon.