Spiralized Greek Salad
Spiralized Greek Salad
-adapted from prettyprovidence.com
I’m late to the spiralizing party, but now that I’ve arrived, I can’t control myself. I previously scoffed at the idea of yet another space hogging kitchen gadget and was just sure that everyone claiming to use “zoodles” in place of real actual delicious noodles had gone positively mad. For the record, I still think there’s no substitute for pasta, but let me tell you, “zoodles” (zucchini noodles) and sweet potato noodles (can we call these ‘spoodles’??) are seriously delicious. I’m now a fan, and I plan to tell you all about the ways I use them soon. But today, I cannot delay in sharing perhaps the best use of my spiralizer to date--turning out some darling strands of cucumber to form the base of a Greek salad. It’s complete genius, and I cannot take credit. Start to finish, this salad will take you 15 minutes. It’s healthy, delicious, and will make the perfect accompaniment to any grilled meat or fish. If you are a vegetarian, all you need is a side of hummus and pita, and you’ve got dinner. I’ve made this every single day this week, it’s that good. Don’t have a spiralizer? Don’t panic. You can still enjoy all the delicious flavors by chopping your cucumbers, although your texture experience will be a tad different. If you’ve been contemplating the purchase of a spiralizer, maybe now’s the time? For the record, I bought The Inspiralizer…though no one paid me to tell you that.
Salad:
- 2 large English cucumbers, spiralized (I like the thin angel hair style setting for this)
- 1/2 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
- 1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, halved
- 1/4 cup sliced pepperoncini peppers
- 4 oz feta, crumbled
Dressing:
- Juice of one large lemon
- 2 T extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 t. Greek seasoning (it’s no secret that I love Penzeys brand)
- 1/4 t. garlic powder
- pinch of salt and pepper
Spiralize your cucumbers (peeling is optional; I like to peel the cucumber so there are a just a few strips of peel left for color, but it’s mostly peel free). Lay them out on a cutting board on top of several layers of paper towels. Sprinkle generously with salt and let stand while you prepare the rest of your ingredients. The cucumbers are going to release moisture, and this is a good thing. You don’t want a watery salad. That would be so sad. After 10 minutes, pat the cukes dry and add to a large mixing bowl. Add the rest of your ingredients and toss well. Whisk dressing ingredients together and pour over top. Toss again and serve immediately. The first time I made this I did not serve immediately, and my salad needed a detour through the strainer before hitting the plates. You do you, but know that if you don’t serve immediately you’ll have some extra water. Life is hard.