Greek Salad (fiasco, almost...)

This Greek Salad is so good...even if you forget the feta!


Ingredients:

8 cups bite-sized romaine lettuce
1 cup thinly sliced and quartered English cucumber (not being a fan of cucumber, this was the way to go for our salad)
1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
4 Roma, or other plum, tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 cup diced green bell peppers
1 cup Kalamata olives
8 peperoncini, or more if you want
1 cup crumbled feta cheese

Toss all together in a large salad bowl then pour on the dressing, starting with about 1/4 cup then add a little more at a time until you have enough.  It is MUCH better to start with too little!

NOTE:  I think the feta doesn't want to be in this salad!  Even while typing in the recipe above I forgot the feta cheese!!!


Homemade Greek Dressing

Ingredients:

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons dried oregano
3 teaspoons fresh grated garlic
1 teaspoon dried basil
2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar, or other vinegar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1-2 ounces feta cheese

NOTE: Have on hand some lite ranch salad dressing in case you discover the garlic bites back a bit too much!  For our salad I cut the Greek dressing 50/50 with the ranch dressing.

In food processor put in everything except the olive oil and pulse until the garlic is very finely chopped.  Drizzle in the olive oil a little at a time while the processor is still running.  The dressing will thicken up somewhat.

Put into a glass jar with a cover...perhaps an empty clean wide-mouthed salsa jar?...and refrigerate for two hours or more.  About 30 minutes before dressing your salad take out of the refrigerator to let the olive oil come back to room temperature.  When the oil is liquid again, give the jar a good shaking then take a small bit of artisan bread, or other bread, and dip into dressing to test for bite.  If too strong, add some of the ranch dressing.  When you are happy with the dressing dress the salad by pouring on about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of dressing.  That is all we needed on our salad.  If you like to drown your salad in dressing, feel totally free...just be sure you and your guests like it that way. It is impossible to undress a salad.

Even without the feta cheese in our salad, it was really really good.  That was all I ate for supper and there were many other good things that went with it.