If you should stumble into some decent tomatoes, not too watery from all of the rain that's bombarded our beloved Hanover of late, do yourself a favor and make this!
At least a couple of times during the late summer, I'm known to "accidentally" forget to make dinner, or "inadvertently" become so embroiled in closet cleaning that, surprise, it doesn't seem to make any sense get it together. Then, oh so smoothly and nonchalantly, I just say to Jeff, "Hey, why don't we just run over to Joe's Inn?"
Mission accomplished! Once there, in the heart of tomato season, I know I'm going to run into my beloved Country Greek Salad--bursting with everything good: tomatoes, feta, olives, and cucumber all without the distraction of any lettuce whatsoever.
Well, the other day, I was scavenging about in the fridge when I realized I had all of the ingredients to make one without even having to trek to Joe's. On my windowsill, I had the first really exceptionally good tomatoes I've lucked into all summer. In the fridge I had a big vat of really good, authentically Greek feta, and an english cucumber. I didn't have any red onion which, truth be told, isn't my friend, but I did have some scallions and, while there was a dearth of Kalamata olives, I did have a bevy of dear little nicoise olives.
I mean, how hard could it be? In no time, I whipped up this little taste treat and, I hate to say it, but I think it was even better than my inspiration at Joe's Inn.
Never fear, as the days wear on, turning summer into fall, there are always closets to be cleaned, and projects to overtake me. And just between you and me, sometimes there's just nothing that fits the bill like a big ole' plate of Joe's spaghetti ala Greek with marinara sauce.
Country Greek Salad
serves 3
For salad:
4 large perfect tomatoes, cored and quartered
1 large english cucumber, peeled and cut into 1 " dice
1/2 cup nicoise olives
3 scallions, chopped
6 ounces good Greek Feta, chopped into 1 " chunks
For dressing:
about 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (or to taste)
about a tablespoon red wine vinegar (or to taste)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
salt and freshly ground pepper
Place all salad ingredients in a large salad bowl. In a separate bowl, mix oil, vinegar, sugar, garlic and oregano. Add mustard and stir to emulsify. Taste and add salt and pepper and adjust seasonings to taste.
Pour dressing over salad, toss and serve immediately with crusty bread for an easy and delicious late summer feast.