Caviar and Codfish

And You Call Yourself Greek?! (Not-so Greek Salad)

Well, to be fair, this salad never called himself Greek. This salad can’t talk.

Though, if he had, he’d have been a real poser. Like a baseball cap-backwards, droopy-pants, rapping white guy. Okay, maybe not that bad, but a poser all the same. And why is my salad counterfeit, you ask? I’ll tell you why—my Greek salad contains NO olives and it full of BASIL! I even almost used ricotta salata instead of feta cheese!!

So, now you have, my salad is really an Italian posing as a Greek. But it’s still pretty damn tasty! I used zinfandel vinegar, which gave a perfectly sweet/acidic twinge, and a good olive oil for balance. It’s great for the end of August, when the days of summer are coming to an end—I like to spend this time cooking very little, enjoying the summer produce as raw and untouched as possible. A nice, ripe peach or nectarine could top off a dinner of this salad and a piece of fish perfectly.

And, even though you don’t really need a recipe for this one, here it is:

Not-so Greek Salad

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 Tbsp zinfandel vinegar
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 cucumber, chopped into chunks
• 1 red pepper, chopped into chunks
• 1 green pepper, chopped into chunks
• 1 red onion, sliced very thinly
• 1 small bunch of basil leaves, shredded
• 5 oz. feta cheese, crumbled

1. Combine first 3 ingredients in small bowl, whisk together.
2. Combine all other ingredients in a large bowl. Pour oil mixture over and toss. Salt and pepper as desired.
3. Serve with Ouzo if you want a real party.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 28th, 2007 at 10:41 am and is filed under First Course, Salad, Sides. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

10 Responses to “And You Call Yourself Greek?! (Not-so Greek Salad)”

1. Katerina Says:
   August 28th, 2007 at 11:42 am

   You aren’t alone – pretty sure that if it has feta you can call it a Greek salad anywhere in both America. Plus the label doesn’t make the dish.

2. claudia Says:
   August 29th, 2007 at 12:20 am

   i love the idea of ricotta salata and cuke’s and basil, and bell peppers and red onion – and then maybe a splash of balsamic. it could be the long lost italian cousin of the grrek salad…

3. Jim Says:
   August 29th, 2007 at 9:54 am

   Don’t think of it as posing; think of it as ASPIRING!

4. Graham Says:
   August 29th, 2007 at 7:55 pm

   MMmmmmmm, that sounds soooo scrummy. The photo has my tummy rumbling. :D

5. Sharona May Says:
   September 1st, 2007 at 10:34 pm

   That looks very good. I love all the colors and flavors. Will need to try this!

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   http://birdfood-sharona.blogspot.com/

6. Sarah Says:
   September 2nd, 2007 at 4:52 pm

   YUM! Salads rock! Glad to hear from you!

   By the way, I tagged you for a meme over at my blog. Hope that’s ok!

7. kel @ Green Olive Tree Says:
   September 6th, 2007 at 8:55 am

   love yr little salad server where did you get it?

8. robin Says:
   September 6th, 2007 at 11:30 am

   Thanks for all the wonderful comments!

   Sarah– Thanks for tagging me for my first meme!! Will get on it soon!

   Kel– Its actually a vintage pyrex dish. Found it on ebay! :D

9. Fobo Says:
   September 19th, 2007 at 12:56 pm

   now that’s a REAL greek salad!

10. Youth Baseball Bats Says:
    October 22nd, 2009 at 11:10 am

    Did you know, that n amateur baseball, both wooden and metal alloy bats are generally permitted. Recently there have been increasing numbers of “wooden bat leagues” and the trend back to wood seems to be accelerating due to safety concerns regarding the speed of a batted ball hit directly toward the pitcher’s head.

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