By Graham Yates
The Greek salad is the quintessential Greek lunch enjoyed sitting in the sun at gingham laid tables overlooking the turquoise waters of the warm Mediterranean Sea. It evokes the senses: pleasant memories of warm sunshine, fresh herbs, tasty tomatoes and cheeky but handsome waiters.
Greek food is renowned for its simplicity, and the authentic Greek salad is no exception. It is simple to prepare, using simple fresh ingredients. But how can you recreate the authentic Greek salad when you are back home? It’s worth doing, because this simple dish is tasty, healthy, and evokes those memories of vacations by the sea. But it’s important to get it right.
So let’s do it!
To be as authentic as possible, it is important to try and use the freshest, tastiest ingredients just like the Greeks would do. The problem is, many of the ingredients we have available are forced-grown, and often inorganically grown. This affects the quality and also the taste. Many restaurant owners in the resorts in Greece are farmers too (or their cousin Kostas is.) The ingredients they use would often be picked that day from their own farms, organically grown and nurtured by Nature.
The best we can do in our home country, is try and get fresh local ingredients from local shops who advertise local produce, or genuine farmers’ markets — or grow our own! However, the one thing we must accept is that the prime ingredient, Feta cheese, must come from Greece itself — because if it doesn’t, it isn’t Feta.
Ingredients
½ red onion
½ a long cucumber
1 red and 1 green pepper (capsicums)
1-2 big soft red tomatoes
A big rectangular slab of Feta Cheese
Extra Virgin olive oil
Oregano
Salt and Pepper
Lemon juice (if desired)
Some local variations include capers (Santorini), and a softer, less salty cream cheese instead of feta (Crete).
Method
This is a salad remember, so it’s not complicated. But here a few tips.
Take the ingredients (except the feta) out of the fridge about 1 hour before you make up the salad. Salad vegetables always taste better when not fridge cold, especially tomatoes.
Use local, organic produce for the best taste.
Use extra virgin olive oil, again for the taste.
The Greeks generally peel the cucumber, so why not do the same?
Chop the vegetables into fairly decent-sized chunks and mix gently. Season with salt and pepper, and drizzle with plenty of olive oil, and a little lemon juice if you want to.
Pop the slab of feta on the top and drizzle with more oil, then sprinkle with oregano.
Have a good chunk of granary bread handy, because there’ll be some lovely olive-oily juice at the bottom when you finish.
A soft, light white wine goes well with this authentic Greek Salad!
Graham Yates wrote this article.
To learn more about Greek and Cretan food visit http://www.completely-crete.com/
If you want to lose weight and still eat lovely food like the Greeks, visit: http://www.the-cretan-bowl-diet.com/
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Graham_Yates
By Kerris Samson
For someone who likes to eat salads on a regular basis you may find that without some kind of dressing they can taste a little boring. However, rather than resorting to using ready made ones from your local grocery store or delicatessen you could actually have a go at making your own salad vinaigrette dressing. In this article we show you some very simple ways of being able to make such a dressing along with a very basic recipe that you may want to consider trying.
When it comes to making, a very basic vinaigrette to dress your salad with you can use either a blender, food processor, whisk or a jar to mix the ingredients up in. But you first need to get the ingredients together. Generally, a very simple vinaigrette is made up of 1 part vinegar to two parts oil, plus any herbs or spices that you wish to include in to the dressing.
If you are someone who finds time a constraint then using a food processor or blender to make a quick dressing for your salad is probably best. First take the vinegar and put it in to the machine, next add some herbs and spices and blend this together. Once they have been blended together you now need to very slowly dribble in the oil whilst the machine is still going until all of the oil has been poured in and the ingredients have been thoroughly mixed together.
For those who have some time to spare then you may find making a great tasting vinaigrette for your salad is by using a whisk. Again you first need to mix the vinegar and the spices or herbs together and whisk until combined. Then very slowly you need to start adding the oil it is best if you drizzle in a couple of tablespoons of the oil at a time until everything has been combined well together. You may discover that using an electric whisk when making a vinaigrette is much easier than doing it by hand.
However probably the easiest way you can make a very basic vinaigrette to dress your salad with is through using a jar (clean one of course). Into the jar (which should have a screw on lid) put the vinegar with the herbs or spices. Then screw on the lid and then shake the jar vigorously until everything has been mixed together. Now next you need to start adding the oil. Do this a couple of tablespoons at the time and each time you do this replace the lid and then shake the jar vigorously and do this until all the oil has been added and the ingredients have been combined together.
In order to make the most basic of vinaigrette dressings for a salad you will need the following ingredients:-
1. Cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil 2. Cup Balsamic Vinegar 3. 3 Cloves of Garlic which have been pressed not cut or crushed 4. 1 Teaspoon of Oregano (fresh is better but dried will do at a pinch) 5. Teaspoon of Rosemary (fresh is best because you need to crush it before adding to the vinegar. However if fresh rosemary is not available then dried will suffice).
Now you have the above ingredients together you just need to combine them and this can easily be done using one of the methods that we have mentioned previously in this article. You will find that it will only take around 5 minutes to produce a great tasting salad vinaigrette dressing that will provide your meal with a little bit more. Also as long as any you have left over is kept in a jar in the refrigerator it can be used again for a further two weeks.
Article Source: http://www.articlewheel.com
SaladFacts.com this is your one stop source for all things revolving around nutrition and salads. To discover more salad and dressing recipes then click here.
By L. Moses
Salads are a beautiful thing. They’re colorful, gorgeous, tasty, and best of all they’re good for your health. Still, we don’t eat them as often as we should. One of the reasons for this is presentation. A handful of greens in your old plastic mixing bowl just doesn’t look as appetizing as it should. What’s the solution? Kick up the presentation!
One of the most appealing methods of presentation is to serve your salads in an elegant wooden salad bowl. There’s just something about this organic, simple, and yet elegant presentation that makes a salad look like a five star gourmet meal. Complete the presentation with wooden salad servers and separate serving bowls and your job is done. Even a handful of greens look spectacular when presented in a hardwood bowl.
Want to put more than a handful of greens in your wooden salad bowl? Try this recipe:
Shrimp Salad with Mango and Avocado
2 pounds large cooked shrimp chilled or at room temperature.
½ cup thinly sliced red onion
3 tbs chopped fresh cilantro
2 tsp grated lime rind
2 tbs lime juice
1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
2 ripe mangos peeled and cut into 6 wedges each
1 peeled avocado seeded and cut into 12 wedges
Combine onion and next seven ingredients through jalapeno, into your large wooden salad bowl. Add shrimp. Place ½ cup to ¾ cup shrimp mixture into your individual wooden salad bowls. Arrange 2 mango slices and 2 avocado slices in the center of the bowl and serve.
Wooden salad sets in mahogany and cherry hardwoods can be found at many kitchen stores. Each set usually comes with a large wooden bowl for presentation, a set of wooden salad serving utensils, and four individual serving bowls. These sets make wonderful gift ideas for any occasion.
Find the mahogany and cherry hardwood salad bowls at http://www.mysecretpantry.com today!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=L._Moses
From: Ship of the Month:
Wind Surf
Serves 10
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