Greek Salad with Garbanzo Beans and Lemon Vinaigrette

In Greece, a classic Greek Salad rarely will come with lettuce, but with all the wonderful produce included, you won’t miss it. The Garbanzo beans are optional, by adding them this turns your salad into a full meal. Regarding olives, pitted olives that come in a jar or can tend to be mushy and lose flavor; far better is to buy un-pitted olives in a jar, and if you want to remove the pits before serving for your guests, then do that manually.

Prep Time: 20-25 Minutes

Serves: Four

Ingredients:

1 medium red onion, thinly sliced

4 medium tomatoes, sliced into bite-sized wedges

1 large cucumber, sliced lengthwise, then slice again into half rounds

1 red bell pepper, sliced into 2-3-inch strips

1 green bell pepper, sliced into 2-3-inch strips

8 ounces kalamata olives (unpitted), drained

4 tablespoons capers

8-12 Peperoncini (small spicy peppers)

15 ounces garbanzo beans, cooked, rinsed, and drained

1 teaspoon dried oregano

Dressing:

6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons lemon juice

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Garnish:

6 ounces (about 1 cup) feta cheese crumbled in large chunks

Directions:

In a large salad bowl, combine onion, tomatoes, cucumber, bell peppers, olives, capers, Peperoncini peppers, garbanzo beans, and oregano.

Whisk dressing ingredients together: olive oil, lemon juice, and black pepper. Pour dressing over salad, toss, then garnish with crumbled feta cheese, and serve.

Enjoy!

Steven Masley, MD