Saturday, November 7, 2009

Rosie's In The Mood For A Greek Salad With Homemade Dressing.

Today for lunch, I just wanted a light salad, and this one is Mediterranean inspired.
First my dressing.
Ingredients: 1/4 Newman's Extra Virgin Olive Oil 1/2 cup Bertolli's Extra Light Olive Oil juice of 1 lemon 3 cloves garlic, minced 3 tsp dried oregano 2 TB fresh basil, finely chopped 2 TB red wine vinegar 1/4 tsp freshly ground salt 1 tsp sugar 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper Mix all ingredients together and shake well before pouring.
I had about 4 TB lemon juice.
I added the lemon juice to my combination of olive oils.
Three cloves garlic. Smash with the blade of your knife and remove skin.
Mince the garlic. Rosie Tip #204: Wet your finger and your knife in warm water before mincing. It keeps the garlic from sticking.
Rosie Tip #205: The more you mince, the stronger the garlic flavor.
Add in 3 tsp ground oregano.
I picked some fresh basil leaves out of the garden.
And finely chopped the basil.
This red wine vinegar was given to me by my dear friend, Maxine, who had the "mother." I believe a chemistry professor at the university where she teaches made up the "recipe" for this.
One tsp of sugar went in, then I put in the freshly ground salt and pepper.
Isn't that pretty? I shook up the dressing then let it sit for a bit so the flavors could develop while I ...
... went outside to pick some lettuce.
This is a mesclun mix I planted a few weeks ago. It's a mix of leafy and loose-headed lettuces and a combination of taste and texture sensations. It's a treat for both the eye and the tongue. You have bitter, sweet, tangy, peppery - you name it. I harvest this by the "cut and come again" method - cut off a few leaves and let the plant continue to grow.
The taste of freshly picked lettuce is incomparable to anything you can buy. I rinsed my lettuce off, drained it, patted it dry, then put the lettuces and my plate in the fridge. I like a cool plate for my lettuces. Whenever I go to a salad bar and pick up a warm plate directly out of the dishwasher I am disappointed.
Here are my toppings: tomato with freshly ground salt and pepper sliced cucumber sliced green pepper black olives chopped red onion clover sprouts feta cheese And now my 20/20 hindsight kicks in. I forgot the peperoncini. But, to tell the truth, I didn't miss it.
Lovely naked salad.
Lovely dressed salad. Ahhhh. This was sublime.

Greek Salad

A crisp, Mediterranean inspired salad with a flavor-filled dressing.

See Greek Salad on Key Ingredient.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Wow, your lettuce looks great!