Effortless Greek Salad

This refreshing, satisfying salad is easy to put together. Mix up ingredients based on what you have on hand.  

Are we still in the phase of a pandemic that calls for easy recipes, at least several nights a week? Good. Because this Greek Salad lives up to its name: Effortless. This is the salad to throw together when you want to throw something together, rather than cook it. The great thing is that it’s also a salad that’s not run-of-the-mill boring.

An Effortless Greek Salad uses pepperoncini for its brininess, asparagus for its springiness and feta for its salty bite. We like to top ours with shrimp, which is especially easy when you buy the shrimp pre-boiled from your favorite fish guy or grocery. With an oregano-spiked lemony dressing drizzled over the top, things come together nicely. 

But wait…you don’t have shrimp? Use chicken. Or a can of drained and rinsed chickpeas (because aren’t those in every pantry right now?). No pepperoncini? Substitute capers, or chopped green olives, or kalamata olives. No asparagus? How about a chopped red or green bell pepper, or some cucumber slices? Maybe some grape tomatoes.

In other words, throw in what you’ve got, make it your own. The only rule: Keep it effortless. 

Effortless Greek Salad

Ingredients:

Mixed greens
Roasted asparagus (recipe here), cut diagonally into 1-inch pieces
Pepperoncini, drained and sliced
Cold boiled shrimp (or grilled shrimp, grilled chicken or chickpeas)
Feta cheese
Greek Lemon Vinaigrette

Recipe directions: 

Pile the greens into a bowl. Top with asparagus, pepperoncini, and shrimp (or any protein you’d like). Crumble feta over the salad, and drizzle Greek Lemon Vinaigrette over it all.

Greek Lemon Vinaigrette 

Ingredients: 

3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
½ cup olive oil

Recipe directions: 

Put all the ingredients in a lidded container, and shake until the dressing is emulsified. You can keep any leftover dressing in the fridge for a couple of weeks; just let it come to room temperature and shake well before using again.