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Middle Eastern Salata

Middle Eastern Salata

Don't worry about making too much of this salad because the leftovers can be combined with pasta to make an outstanding pasta salad. If you cannot buy Za'atar seasoning, here is a recipe to make your own.

Course Salad
Cuisine Middle Eastern

Ingredients

For the dressing:

  • 1-2 t Za'atar seasoning
  • 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
  • 2 T thicker (more aged or reduced) balsamic vinegar
  • 1 T pomegranate molasses
  • Pinch of salt
  • Pinch of black pepper
  • 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • Pinch of sugar, to taste

For the salad:

  • 18 mini cucumbers, sliced (dice if you use bigger cucumbers)
  • 2 sweet bell peppers, diced
  • 1/3 cup diced red onion, soaked in cold water for 15 minutes
  • 28 oz grape or cherry tomatoes, chopped (you could also use a fleshy tomato such as Roma)
  • 1 lb baby arugula
  • 10-15 Kalamata and/or black olives
  • 5-6 oz Crumbled creamy feta cheese (I recommend French feta cheese if you can find it)

Instructions

Make the dressing:

  1. Whisk together everything but the oil. Then, continually whisking, add the oil in a slow stream until the dressing is emulsified. Taste. Add more sugar if necessary--the dressing should be fairly strong.

Assemble the salad:

  1. Toss all of the salad ingredients together. Add the dressing and toss again. Serve immediately.

  2. If you have leftovers, go ahead and store them in an airtight container in the fridge. The next day boil up some pasta and toss it with the leftovers. Add some more feta cheese if you need it to be a main entree.