SIDES & SALADS, MEDITERRANEAN
GREEK SALAD WITH HONEYED BAKED FETA CROUTONS
- Timescale In A Hurry
- Serves 4
- Difficulty Simple
Greek salad is one of those dishes that always seems to brighten your day. Perhaps it is due to its proclivity on dining tables throughout the Aegean, but it never fails to conjure fond memories of sunny holidays and long, carefree lunches.
Our own version of this classic dish strays a little from the traditional – we have decided to bake our feta with honey – two very Greek ingredients, which when baked together create wonderfully sweet and salty croutons that add another layer of texture to this dish.
Though not strictly traditional, we also add some shredded lettuce to help tie the salad together and leave our onions to marinate in a simple lemon dressing – taking the bite out of the onion and bringing much-needed acidity. The real star of the show are those croutons though – maybe make a big batch as you’ll want them on all salads soon!
Ingredients
THE SALAD
2 Large Tomatoes, diced into 2cm chunks
1 Large Green Bell Pepper, sliced into strips
½ a Small Cucumber, cored and cut into 1cm thick strips
1 Little Gem Lettuce, roughly shredded
75g Kalamata Olives
THE FETA CROUTONS
200g Feta, broken into 4cm chunks
2 tsp Runny Honey,
1 tsp Olive Oil,
1 tsp Dried Oregano,
Pinch of Pepper,
THE DRESSING
½ a Red Onion, finely sliced
Juice of 2 Lemons
50ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Generous Pinch of Salt & Pepper
TO GARNISH
Pinch of Dried Oregano
METHOD
THE DRESSING
- In a large bowl, combine the lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Whisk together until homogenous.
- Add the sliced red onion into the dressing and set aside for at least half an hour before using.
TIP – Providing the onions are fully covered by the dressing, this will keep in the fridge for about a week.
THE FETA CROUTONS
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC (Fan).
- Arrange the pieces of feta on a baking tray lined with baking parchment. Drizzle the honey and olive oil over the feta ensuring the pieces are evenly covered.
- Transfer the croutons to the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes until sizzling and slightly charred around the edges. Remove from the oven and transfer the parchment and croutons to a wire cooling rack. Sprinkle over the dried oregano and pepper whilst the croutons are still hot.
- Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.
THE SALAD
- Combine all the salad elements on a large plate. Add half the onions from the dressing to the salad and 2 tsp of the dressing. Top with the feta croutons and serve immediately along with the remaining dressing and onions.
Comment