Grilled Feta Salad

I just love Salads, as you probably all know by now. The Toddster . . . not so much. I am always trying to invent new ways to "do" salad in order to keep him interested.



He will probably never "love" salad . . . but I think that at least if I keep things somewhat interesting . . . he won't complain.



If I served it every day . . . he'd probably complain no matter what, so I do try to keep it down to a dull roar. What's gal to do???



This is a salad that contains pretty much all of the flavours of a Greek Salad, except it's put together a little bit differently. I kept the cucumber in manly pieces . . . substantial . . . more than a mouthful. Men seem to like things better if they have to cut it with a knife and a fork . . .



I quartered the tomatoes . . . again leaving them in fairly large chunks, and I added plenty of green and black olives for colour and meatiness. If you can find the marinated ones, so much the better . . . even more flavour. I didn't chop the fresh herbs, but kept them in leaf form . . . again more substantial, and taking the place of any lettuce. Sometimes Todd see's lettuce and runs for the hills. I'm not sure why that is.



Finally I grilled the cheese . . . which made it a tiny bit squidgy and added interest to the whole salad, both in texture and taste . . . not to mention it looks rather tasty with all those nicely browned edges.

Topped with a vinaigrette dressing that is not too spicy, but nicely sweetened with some liquid honey, this was well accepted. Todd doesn't like it when things are tooooo tart. (He's not a pickle fan either unless there's cheese . . . and they're sweet.)

Altogether this went down a real treat. Everybody was happy. Except the dog . . . no tidbits left for her. (She's not a fan of salad either . . . but she does like cheese.)



*Grilled Feta Salad*
Serves 2
Printable Recipe

A lovely salad which encompasses all the flavours of a Greek Salad. Fresh, flavourful and quick to make.

1 small English Cucumber, sliced lengthwise into quarters, and then the quarters, halved
4 small vine-ripened tomatoes, quartered
150g of pitted mixed olives (1 cup)
1/2 red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
a handful of fresh mint leaves (about 3/4 cup)
a handful of fresh flat leaf parsley leaves (about 3/4 cup)
a few spring of fresh oregano, leaves pulled off, stems discarded
200g of firm feta cheese, thickly sliced (about half a pound)
extra virgin olive oil for brushing

For the dressing:
2 TBS red wine vinegar
2 TBS extra virgin olive oil
1 TBS liquid honey
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Whisk together the dressing ingredients and set aside.

Divide the cucumber between two chilled plates, along with the tomatoes, olives, onions, mint and parsley. Brush the feta cheese with some oil. Heat a large nonstick pan over high heat.Add the feta and cook for two minutes per side, until golden. Place on top of each salad. Spoon the dressing over top and serve immediately.