Greek Salad (Vegan)

This past weekend was one of those weekends when I kind of accidentally booked all the nooks and crannies of my calendar.  It was all great awesine super fun stuff – we took a cooking class, shared a lunch out with the inlaws, a Valentine’s dinner with my brother and sister-in-law, got in quality workouts like a first-time intro to Jiu Jitsu class and a long run, worked on the new business, and celebrated my cousin’s 30th birthday. You gotta admit that’s a lot of stuff for two measly days off, especially for a homebody like myself who fantasizes about days with no commitments.  Nonetheless, it was all worth the extra effort!

Point is… I was looking for a last-minute potluck contribution for my cousin’s party on Sunday, so I texted her husband to see what they needed, and it turned out they were heavy on the desserts and shy on the greenery.  So a salad was going to fit the bill.  I have a HORRIBLE time trying to decide what to bring to potlucks. Oh my gosh, I deliberate and stress and then deliberate again.  I don’t know why I think everyone will be judging my dish like I’m on Chopped, but for some reason, no matter how much I like my own food, I’m always a tiny bit afraid that it just won’t suit anyone else’s tastes.  So what I’m saying is that I was grateful to have his help narrowing down the options!  Now I only had to deliberate over what type of salad to bring.

In the past few years, several members of my family have gotten intense about their food preferences – there are vegetarians, near vegans, there are gluten-avoiders and dairy shunners.  It leaves few options that please everyone, but I genuinely believe that this salad could fit the bill on just such an occasion.

Ok, let’s break it down.  We have no dairy, no meat, no gluten, nothing that’s on anyone’s nutrition shit-list as far as I know.  Granted, in my family, we like to say that tomatoes are a very polarizing fruit, so there may still be some strong opinions and preferences, but at least we should all be allowed to eat this salad.  And lemme tell ya, as one of those people who does from time to time like to have a plant-based day, I felt like a champion eating this salad, and I enjoyed it too.

Even without all of our x-list foods, the flavor is amazing thanks to some fancy plants like olives, red onions, and peppadew peppers which just so happen to be jam-packed with flavor.

A super-basic dressing with red wine vinegar, lemon juice, oregano, and olive oil rounds it out perfectly.  And as a disclaimer, if you’re looking to have a little bit more of a party with this, you can always just dump in a container of crumbled feta.  I don’t want to stand in your way, and I’ll be honest, today I was 50% wishing I’d bought some feta to throw in, but I was sharing this salad with other people, for whom that would have spoiled it, and I have also had more than my share of cheese this weekend, so it really was the responsible choice.

Without further ado, inspired by a recipe from the Food Network Kitchens, I bring you my version of the Greek Salad:

[lt_recipe name=”Greek Salad (Vegan)” servings=”6″ prep_time=”20M” total_time=”20M” difficulty=”Easy” summary=”A perfect go-to salad for weeknight dinner or potlucks – great for picky eaters and folks with special dietary requirements. Vegan, gluten-free, nut-free scrumptiousness!” print=”yes” image=”http://www.eighteenalmonds.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/IMG_9616-001-150×150.jpg” ingredients=”2 tbsp red wine vinegar;Juice of 1/2 lemon;1/2 tsp dried oregano;Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper;1/4 c extra-virgin olive oil;1 large head romaine lettuce, chopped and spun dry;1/2 large cucumber, chopped;1 pint grape tomatoes, quartered,;1/2 c kalamata olives, chopped;1/2 c Peppadew peppers, chopped;1/2 a small red onion, diced” ]Whisk together vinegar, lemon juice, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste in a large bowl. Whisk in olive oil slowly until emulsified.;Add lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, olives, peppers, and onion and toss to coat. Season with additional salt and pepper if needed.;[/lt_recipe]