I hope you are not superstitious about things such as Friday the 13th and the like. I have never been superstitious about such things. In fact I was born on the 13th of a month, so occasionally my birthday has actually been on a Friday, so it is actually a very lucky day for me. In fact on my 40th birthday, I went to Bingo with my SIL and I won the jackpot. So, yes, very lucky for me. Hmmm . . . perhaps I should buy a lottery ticket! And this has absolutely nothing to do with today's recipe, except for the fact that today you should absolutely make this, Friday the 13th or not!
I had never heard of Greek Salad until I was in my late 20's. I had gone to lunch with a friend of mine to a Pizza place and she ordered a Greek Salad. It had all this weird looking white cheese scattered over the top of it and plenty of Kalamata olives. I wasn't so sure about the white cheese, but it looked really tasty.
Of course back in those days, I only ever ate plastic cheese. (I know horror of all horrors!) I allowed my friend to tempt me into trying the feta cheese, which is what that white cheese was called. I have to admit, it took all of my plastic cheese eating courage just to try it. I really didn't think I would like it. I was prepared to shudder . . .
I fell in love at first bite. I quite liked this Feta cheese, and since then have embraced Greek Salads in every form or shape (along with Feta and a few other Greek cheeses as well). Today's is one of my favourite versions.
It embodies all of the elements of a good Greek Salad with fresh crisp cucumbers, ripe tomatoes, red onions, kalamata olives, plenty of parsley and a delicious red wine herbed dressing. Oh, and pasta twists, which while not exactly traditional, make this a fabulously tasty and hearty salad!
I have always loved cucumbers. Crisp, with an almost melon texture and flavour, they are really refreshing. Some people have problems digesting them, but I never have. Sometimes they can be bitter, but my mother always said that if you peeled them from the centre down to the end, it took the bitterness away. I always do that and have never had a bitter cucumber. Luck perhaps, but then again, this is Friday the 13th!
You can also run a fork down the sides of the unpeeled cucumber, which not only does the trick, but makes a pretty pattern on the cucumber. I have also heard that if you cut off both the blossom and the stem ends of the cucumber, just a sliver, and then rub the cut sides of the bits you have cut off, against the cut ends of the cucumber until a foam comes up, that also takes away the bitterness. I cannot speak to the truthfulness of that because I have never done it!
Today I used a mix of red and yellow baby plum tomatoes. Nice and sweet, and I confess right now, i didn't have any Kalamata olives and so used a good black olive, but traditionally Kalamata are the way to go and the ones I normally use.
I also use whole wheat pasta, which I quite like. It almost has a nutty flavour and is really good for you with more fibre, which makes it low GI. The dressing is what really pulls this all together. I use a pure extra virgin olive oil and a good quality red wine vinegar. Fresh herbs from my garden, picked just prior to using also helped to bring a lovely fresh herby flavour. I included some oregano flowers to garnish it which I thought were really pretty, as several of my herbs are now in bloom. Altogether this is really, really nice!
*Greek Pasta Salad*
Serves 6
If you like Greek Salad, you are going to love this pasta salad filled with vegetables, herbs, olives and feta cheese.
230g (2 cups) fusilli pasta, uncooked
1 TBS olive oil
1/2 pound tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 cucumber, peeled and diced
a handful of diced pitted Kalamata olives
1/4 peeled red onion, very thinly sliced
a handful of parsley, finely chopped (about 1/4 cup)
230g feta cheese, cubed or crumbled (1 cup)
For the dressing:
60ml red wine vinegar (1/4 cup)
180ml good olive oil (3/4 cup)
1/2 cup finely minced fresh basil, oregano, and or dill (a very large handful)
1 tsp finely minced peeled garlic
salt and black pepper to taste
Bring a large pan of lightly salted water to the boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package directions. Drain well in a colander. Drizzle with 1 TBS of the olive oil. Shake the colander to distribute the oil and set aside to cool.
Once cooled, place in a serving bowl and add all of the vegetables, tossing all well together. Place all of the ingredients for the dressing in a jar and shake to emulsify the dressing. Taste and adjust seasoning as required. You will have more dressing than you need for the salad, but it is a good dressing to have for other salads. Add 80ml (1/3 cup) to 120 ml (1/2 cup) to the salad, tossing all together well. Gently fold in the feta cheese. Serve at room temperature.
The Clever Cook could turn this into a meal by adding cooked chickpeas, tinned artichokes, grilled chicken, homemade garlic croutons, or fresh seafood such as cooked shrimps or calamari! Bon Appetit!
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