Spring Greek Salad (Shared by the Paulovits Family)

Written by Leslie O'Neil

Featured image from AnnaMarie and her blog, Just a Little Bit of Bacon 

Fresh Spring veggies inspired this lovely take on the traditional chopped Greek salad from Just a Little Bit of Bacon. This recipe idea was shared with Ag Connect during pick-up at our warehouse a few months ago by Suki Paulovits, one of our wonderful Harvest Box customers. She and her family started looking for new recipes when we brought in our first round of purple heart radishes last fall and as we got new and interesting radish varieties through the winter. This particular one quickly became a family favorite and I asked her to share it with me so I could pass it along for a bit of inspiration. 

{Image of Easter Egg Radishes from Rooper Ranch by @AmandaPhotographic}

I’ve augmented the amounts and instructions a bit here with a few suggestions to better reflect how you’re likely to find the ingredients in the store or in your boxes, to include a few more traditional flavors, reflect that recipes are super easy to augment to your needs and tastes, and because, for example, you don’t need to blanch or boil sweet peas, they’re delicious just as they are! 

A traditional chopped Greek salad is very simple and focuses on salty, tangy flavors from feta cheese and kalamata olives paired with juicy, fresh, seasonal vegetables. You definitely don’t have to stick with tomatoes and cucumbers as the classic versions generally feature! The other major staple in all Mediterranean cuisine is cooking and eating locally and seasonally - so, if tomatoes aren’t at their peak, subbing other crunchy, juicy, and seasonally available vegetables is totally in keeping with the spirit of the dish!

Prep Time: 10-15 minutes (how fast do you chop?)

Cook Time: 0 minutes

Ingredients:

1 pint (10-12 ounces) sweet peas

1 bunch radishes (the whole bunch for the little red guys, 4-6 of the larger easter egg radishes)

2 green onions 

4 ounces feta cheese

½ Cup kalamata olives, halved

1 handful finely chopped fresh mint or parsley

Juice of 1 lemon or 2 tablespoons vinegar of your choice

Drizzle of olive oil

Pinch of salt

Optional crushed garlic, pepper, and oregano to taste

Instructions:

1. Rinse your snap peas and radishes and set on a tea towel to dry. Pinch the ends of your peas and peel back the string, if you choose.
2. Roughly chop your snap peas into halves or thirds, slice your radishes into rounds or half-moons, chop your olives into halves (de-seeding if needed), and finely chop your mint and green onions and add the lot to a mixing bowl.
3. Drizzle olive oil and lemon juice or vinegar over your chopped veggies and add a pinch of salt and some crushed garlic, pepper, or dried oregano if you choose, and mix the lot together.
4. Crumble your feta cheese and add to the chopped veggies just before serving. Gently fold the cheese in and enjoy!

{Image from Marissa Stevens of Pinch and Swirl}

Serve at room temperature or let sit in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours before serving for the flavors to mingle. Just know that sitting for more than an hour will make a soupier dish as the salts in the olives, cheese, and any added salt will draw moisture out of your chopped vegetables.