Greek Salad with Herbed Pita
For picnic pita sandwiches, make the salad as directed, but pit and chop the olives. Slice leftover grilled, poached or purchased rotisserie chicken breasts and toss with the salad. Halve the pita rounds, stuff with the salad and chicken and serve.
Ingredients:
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- Freshly ground pepper, to taste
- 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbs. olive oil
- 4 pita bread rounds
- 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
- 2 hearts of romaine lettuce, coarsely chopped
- 1 English cucumber, halved crosswise and thickly sliced
- 2 tomatoes, cut into wedges
- 1 cup assorted brine-cured olives
- 1/2 lb. feta cheese, crumbled
- 8 green onions, thinly sliced
Directions:
Make the vinaigrette
In a large bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, garlic and a generous amount of pepper. Gradually whisk in the 1/4 cup olive oil until smooth.
Warm the pita bread
Preheat an oven to 300°F.
Cut each pita bread into 4 wedges. Arrange on a baking sheet and brush both sides with the 2 Tbs. olive oil. Sprinkle with the oregano and place in the oven to warm for about 10 minutes.
Assemble the salad
Meanwhile, add the lettuce, cucumber and tomatoes to the vinaigrette and toss to coat evenly. Arrange on plates and top with the olives, feta and green onions. Place the warm pita wedges alongside the salads and serve immediately. Serves 4.
Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Food Made Fast Series, Salad, by Brigit L. Binns (Oxmoor House, 2007).