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Updated 07/12/2010 11:47 AM

Cooking at Home: Greek Salad

By: Chef Dan Eaton

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SERVES:

4

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 – 2 hearts of romaine lettuce
2 ripe tomatoes, cut into wedges
1/2 small-medium cucumber, halved and thinly sliced crosswise
Approx. 1 cup pitted kalamata olives
4-5 6-inch pita rounds cut into wedges
Olive oil to lightly coat pita
Salt to taste
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 small clove garlic
1-2 Tbs fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/2 tsp dried dill
1/2 tsp dried oregano
Black pepper to taste

PROCEDURE:

Cut a stack of 4-5 whole pita rounds into 12 equal sized wedges and toss all of those into a large mixing bowl with olive oil to lightly coat. Then toss them with salt to taste, spread them out on a baking tray or two and place them in a preheated 350 degree oven.

Keep your eye on the pita chips in the oven and, as they're toasting along, chop as much romaine lettuce as you think you'll need and slice a handful of ripe tomatoes into wedges and slice some cucumbers as well.

Use a blender to combine 1/4 cup plain yogurt, 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese, 1 small clove garlic, 1 Tbs fresh squeezed lemon juice, 1/2 tsp each dried dill and dried oregano and a little crack of black pepper and puree it until it is nice and smooth.

The pita chips will take just about 20 minutes to bake and, when they're nice and crunchy, take them out of the oven and let them cool down to room temperature.

Toss the romaine lettuce with as much of the dressing as you like and then fold in the tomatoes and cucumbers and kalamata olives and then, just before serving, fold in as many of the pita chips as you like and serve it up family style or on individual plates.

HINTS:

You may not use all of the dressing and there may be left over pita chips but no worries, they make a great snack!


About Chef Dan Eaton: Chef Dan Eaton spent his early years on a dairy farm in Vermont where he developed a fondness for foods "straight from the land." Cooking seasonally was more of a necessity then but Dan still finds local ingredients, in season, a driving force behind his menu creations. Click here to read the full biography.