If we go out to lunch together, chances are you won’t hear me ordering a salad. But that doesn’t necessarily mean I’m averse to ordering salads out. If a restaurant offers me a salad featuring ahi tuna, for instance, I’m generally game. Or if I’m going through one of my regular Caesar salad cravings (but let’s be honest, can we really refer to a Caesar as “salad”?). Or yes, the typical Greek salad. It must be something about the combination of fresh veggies with kalamata olives and feta cheese (read: salt!) that I absolutely love. But no matter the salad, I’ve never been much for iceberg lettuce. Romaine doesn’t really do it for me either. Kale, on the other hand? Not only do I feel like some sort of healthy rockstar when I eat kale, but I also find it to be so much more flavorful than all that other watery, bland stuff.
In continuing with my let’s add more vegetables to my diet as soon as possible mantra, I whipped up this quick Kale Greek Salad. I think I get extra points for healthifying it up with kale. But who’s keeping score? Just me? OK.
Kale Greek Salad (serves 5-8):
- 1/2 bunch kale
- 2 tomatoes
- 1 cucumber
- 1 red pepper
- 1 onion
- 1 C kalamata olives
- 1 C feta cheese
- 1 batch Greek dressing (see recipe below)
Let’s not pretend I invented the wheel, here. I’m not that smart. Everyone knows how to make a salad and everyone has preferences for what they like in a salad. I used the typical Greek salad veggies (though, admittedly, my onion should have been red), but feel free to subtract any out or add any in. I did use kale in place of lettuce after all.
Once you’ve washed your kale, remove the tough stems by cutting a “V” on both sides. Then cut the kale leaves into strips. I find this makes the best salad-eating kale, but, you can, of course, cut the kale however you’d like. Put the kale in a big salad bowl.
Chop the rest of your veggies (tomatoes diced, cucumbers in slices, peppers in strips, and onions in slices) and halve your olives. Throw them in the bowl and crumble the feta on top.
Now, make your dressing
Greek Salad Dressing:
- 1/3 C extra virgin olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 t garlic powder
- 1 t dried oregano
- 1/2 t dried basil
- 1/4 t freshly ground black pepper
- 1 t dijon mustard
- 1 T lemon juice
- 1/8 C red wine vinegar
In a bowl or other container, mix together extra virgin olive oil, garlic, garlic powder, dried oregano, dried basil, black pepper, and dijon.
Add in lemon juice and red wine vinegar and mix well.
Now all that’s left to do is to dress your salad!
And dig in. I don’t generally eat a whole lot of kale raw, so I was a bit nervous… But this was pretty awesome. The flavor of the kale wasn’t over-powering and it wasn’t too chewy either. I loved that it had a bit more of a kick than the typical romaine lettuce.
I offered Chris some salad, but warned him that he may not like the raw kale… He took a bite and said, “why wouldn’t I?”
If this salad was always in my fridge, I think I’d happily eat it for lunch every day. And if I wanted a sandwich, I’d put it in a pita and call it a lunch! Now, if only I had someone to run to the grocery store and chop all these vegetables for me every week. Hmmm. (and to hide the cookies and candy from me).
Let’s just say that so far, I’m pretty happy about adding these extra vegetables into my life. Let’s hope I can carry it into the New Year! But first, I think I’m going to enjoy my weekend quite a bit. You?
Are you a salad person?
[Sues]
