I hope you are not superstitious about things such as Friday the 13th and the like. I have never been superstitious about such things. In fact I was born on the 13th of a month, so occasionally my birthday has actually been on a Friday, so it is actually a very lucky day for me. In fact on my 40th birthday, I went to Bingo with my SIL and I won the jackpot. So, yes, very lucky for me. Hmmm . . . perhaps I should buy a lottery ticket! And this has absolutely nothing to do with today's recipe, except for the fact that today you should absolutely make this, Friday the 13th or not!
I had never heard of Greek Salad until I was in my late 20's. I had gone to lunch with a friend of mine to a Pizza place and she ordered a Greek Salad. It had all this weird looking white cheese scattered over the top of it and plenty of Kalamata olives. I wasn't so sure about the white cheese, but it looked really tasty.
Of course back in those days, I only ever ate plastic cheese. (I know horror of all horrors!) I allowed my friend to tempt me into trying the feta cheese, which is what that white cheese was called. I have to admit, it took all of my plastic cheese eating courage just to try it. I really didn't think I would like it. I was prepared to shudder . . .
I fell in love at first bite. I quite liked this Feta cheese, and since then have embraced Greek Salads in every form or shape (along with Feta and a few other Greek cheeses as well). Today's is one of my favorite versions.
It embodies all of the elements of a good Greek Salad with fresh crisp cucumbers, ripe tomatoes, red onions, kalamata olives, plenty of parsley and a delicious red wine herbed dressing. Oh, and pasta twists, which while not exactly traditional, make this a fabulously tasty and hearty salad!
I have always loved cucumbers. Crisp, with an almost melon texture and flavour, they are really refreshing. Some people have problems digesting them, but I never have. Sometimes they can be bitter, but my mother always said that if you peeled them from the center down to the end, it took the bitterness away. I always do that and have never had a bitter cucumber. Luck perhaps, but then again, this is Friday the 13th!
You can also run a fork down the sides of the unpeeled cucumber, which not only does the trick, but makes a pretty pattern on the cucumber. I have also heard that if you cut off both the blossom and the stem ends of the cucumber, just a sliver, and then rub the cut sides of the bits you have cut off, against the cut ends of the cucumber until a foam comes up, that also takes away the bitterness. I cannot speak to the truthfulness of that because I have never done it!
Today I used a mix of red and yellow baby plum tomatoes. Nice and sweet, and I confess right now, i didn't have any Kalamata olives and so used a good black olive, but traditionally Kalamata are the way to go and the ones I normally use.
I also use whole wheat pasta, which I quite like. It almost has a nutty flavor and is really good for you with more fibre, which makes it low GI. The dressing is what really pulls this all together. I use a pure extra virgin olive oil and a good quality red wine vinegar. Fresh herbs from my garden, picked just prior to using also helped to bring a lovely fresh herby flavor. I included some oregano flowers to garnish it which I thought were really pretty, as several of my herbs are now in bloom. Altogether this is really, really nice!
*Greek Pasta Salad*Serves 6Printable Recipe
If you like Greek Salad, you are going to love this pasta salad filled with vegetables, herbs, olives and feta cheese.
230g (2 cups) fusilli pasta, uncooked1 TBS olive oil1/2 pound tomatoes, seeded and diced1 cucumber, peeled and diceda handful of diced pitted Kalamata olives1/4 peeled red onion, very thinly sliceda handful of parsley, finely chopped (about 1/4 cup)230g feta cheese, cubed or crumbled (1 cup)
For the dressing:60ml red wine vinegar (1/4 cup)180ml good olive oil (3/4 cup)1/2 cup finely minced fresh basil, oregano, and or dill (a very large handful)1 tsp finely minced peeled garlicsalt and black pepper to taste
Bring a large pan of lightly salted water to the boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package directions. Drain well in a colander. Drizzle with 1 TBS of the olive oil. Shake the colander to distribute the oil and set aside to cool.
Once cooled, place in a serving bowl and add all of the vegetables, tossing all well together. Place all of the ingredients for the dressing in a jar and shake to emulsify the dressing. Taste and adjust seasoning as required. You will have more dressing than you need for the salad, but it is a good dressing to have for other salads. Add 80ml (1/3 cup) to 120 ml (1/2 cup) to the salad, tossing all together well. Gently fold in the feta cheese. Serve at room temperature.
The Clever Cook could turn this into a meal by adding cooked chickpeas, tinned artichokes, grilled chicken, homemade garlic croutons, or fresh seafood such as cooked shrimps or calamari! Bon Appetit!
