Mediterranean Salad

Ingredients

For the Salad:

1. Salad Base – for this salad, I prefer a mix of romaine lettuce and radicchio. You can usually buy this at the store in a bag under “Italian Salad Mix” or something similar
2. 4 Roma Tomatoes, seeds removed and sliced into 1 inch pieces OR 12oz cherry tomatoes, whole or halved.
3. 1 Cucumber, ends removed, sliced in half and then cut into ¼ -inch half rounds
4. 1 yellow or orange bell pepper, seeds removed and thinly sliced
5. 8oz non-marinated, plain artichoke hearts (optional)
6. ¼ cup pitted green olives (optional)
7. ½ cup crumbled Feta Cheese

For the Salad Dressing:

1. 2 oz extra virgin olive oil
2. 1½ oz red wine vinegar
3. 1 garlic clove, grated
4. 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
5. ¼ teaspoon fresh or dried thyme
6. ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
7. ¼ teaspoon pepper – I like to use Aleppo Pepper, but regular black pepper is good too
8. ¼ teaspoon sumac (optional)
9. ¼ teaspoon MSG (optional – no, it won’t make you sick)
10. ¼ teaspoon Kosher Salt

Instructions:

For the Salad Itself:

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Salad can be made 1 day in advance if it is not dressed. Cover and refrigerate until ready to dress and serve.

For the Dressing:

Add all ingredients to a 4 oz mason jar, or any other container that can be shut tightly. Shake vigorously to emulsify. For best results, allow flavors to marry for 30 minutes. Refrigerate if not using within 2 hours. Dressing can be made 3 days in advance. If it separates in the fridge, no big deal – just give it a good shake right before you’re about to use it.

Recipe Notes:

The key to a great salad dressing is to over-season it. I learned this from an Italian chef who, interestingly, was once the personal chef for the Sultan of Dubai.

His point was that most of the dressing was going to wind up in the bottom of the bowl. He said “When you taste it, if you think, oh, I f**ked that up, you probably did it right.” I’ve never forgotten this advice, and it’s spot on.

The thyme and oregano (ingredients 4 & 5 can be substituted for ½ teaspoon of dried Italian Seasoning, if desired.