This healthy Greek salad recipe is easy to prepare as a result of restaurant quality. This dish combines crispy vegetables and pickled onions in a light and refreshing homemade red wine vinegar sauce.

No salad is complete without a delicious red wine vinaigrette that complements the vibrant greens. A bright and peppery blend of ingredients is blended with extra virgin olive oil to add richness to your bite. This salad also pairs well with grilled chicken or juicy pieces of salmon for a complete meal.

Onions

Large slices topped with a traditional Greek salad are a common sight. It’s colorful and intense, but there’s an easy way to add even more flavor. Cut the red onions into 1-inch rings and soak them in the red wine vinegar and honey mixture.

The pickling solution removes the tough sting from the onions and gives them a nice tangy flavor. You can omit the sweetener if you’d like, although it has a good balance of flavor. The process only takes 15 minutes and when you are done preparing the other components, that’s it. You can also prepare them a day in advance to save time.

The Dressing

For the base, use a mixture of red wine vinegar, lemon juice and zest, minced garlic, honey, Dijon mustard, and dried oregano. In addition to adding a nice flavor, the mustard acts as an emulsifier to prevent the sauce from separating too quickly.

To make an adequately emulsified salad dressing, it is important to gradually mix the olive oil into the vinegar mixture and add it. This method creates tiny droplets of fat that are suspended in a water-in-oil emulsion, resulting in a thick consistency that sticks easily to the leaves.

This dressing is a semi-permanent blend, so it will separate over time. If not eating right away, whisk before eating.

Lettuce Preparation

Use romaine lettuce for the contrast of crisp, soft green leaves on the outside and firm, light green cores in the center. Grocery stores sell them as whole heads or hearts with the outer leaves removed. With a fork, cut the lettuce into half-inch pieces that are easy to handle.

The large size keeps the leaves from wilting too much when sprayed with acidic dressings. You can also use other lettuces, e.g. little gems, butterhead lettuce, loose leaves, baby spinach or a mix of the species.

Add Flavors

It’s all about adding the freshest products. It is better to use grape tomatoes to add sweetness to the taste and cut it into tasty pieces. Or use the thin, soft skins and small edible seeds of English cucumbers. Chopped green peppers provide an earthy flavor, but pepperoncini is a spicy, sweet, and tender substitute.

Kalamata olives add a salty flavor. However, green or black olives are a good trade. Feta cheese adds a creamy element to the dish. Cut them into small cubes so they wouldn’t break up too much when mixing. It also has a stronger burst of flavor than crushed.

Before you Serve

You can add half of the dressing to the salad and serve the rest with it so guests can add more to taste. This amount gives the vinaigrette a light layer to flavor the ingredients without getting wet and discolored. Place in a beautiful serving bowl for an elegant presentation and garnish with additional cheese and vegetables.

Tania K