Sheppard's Salad with Feta
There is a Turkish restaurant in Brooklyn that serves a salad similar to this as an appetizer. They serve it family style on the table on a huge platter. It is the most amazing salad ever and for no particular reason other than it is fresh. The lemon and herbs make the vegetables shine. In the middle east they eat this for breakfast and I think it's time we start too. Put fresh bread and olive oil on the table too. Yum.
Feel free to add chopped purple onion (not my thing), or put the cheese on the side. Also to step up presentation you can serve the lettuce plated in lettuce cups.
Sheppard's Salad with feta
Salad Ingredients:
6 Kirby cucumbers, chopped small
6 plum tomatoes, seeds removed, chopped small
1 green pepper, diced small
1 packed cup parsley, measure then rough chop (this means to cut it as small as you can the first time, but do not go over it again)
½ cup of mint leaves, rough chop
1 handful of whole black or green olives
5 ounces feta cheese, rinsed and dried
Dressing Ingredients:
¼ cup lemon juice (fresh!)
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 cloves chopped garlic, or 2 frozen cubes
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper (fresh is always better)
1 teaspoon sumac
¼ teaspoon cumin
¼ cup olive oil
Directions:
To make the dressing:
In a small bowl, combine the lemon juice, Dijon mustard, garlic, salt, pepper, sumac and cumin. Whisk together well, until fully combined. Continue whisking and slowly add, drop by drop, the olive oil until all of the olive oil is mixed into the dressing.
To make the salad:
In a large serving bowl, put your cucumber, tomato, pepper, parsley, and cheese.
When you are ready to eat, pour half the dressing on and mix. Slowly add a little more at a time and mix between each addition until it is properly dressed. Taste for salt and add if you like.
Plan Ahead:
The dressing will last up to 10 days in the fridge.
You can cut the vegetables up to 2 days before you plan to serve. When storing it, place each vegetable separately in a container or zippered bag lined with a paper towel to help maintain freshness.
The dressed salad is best on the day you make it, although if you drain the leftovers very well it is not bad for a lunchbox the next day.
