Greek Salad with Creamy Ginger Dressing

Ever since we finished our marathon, we’ve been going heavy in the light + flavorful at-home meals.  A hard shift towards incorporating a lot more loaded salads into our life, and we have been loving this Greek Salad with Creamy Ginger Dressing.  A lot of Greek salad classics in this, but tossed with what I consider a more exciting + tasty dressing.  The perfect combination of crisp + fresh veggies combined with those tangy + bright Greek “antipasto” essentials - kalamata olives + pepperoncinis + creamy feta.  It checks all the boxes + we have been making this salad on repeat solely because this creamy ginger dressing is so so good.  

 
 


Whatever you have on hand will work

This is a kitchen sink salad with an antipasto focus.  At the end of the day, this is the salad we’re reaching for both when we just want something veggie loaded + when we want to clean out the fridge.  This is a salad where you can throw in pretty much any of your favorite veggies.  Carrots, tomatoes, cukes - they all go great.  And you can also reach for those pickled + jarred items on hand.  Sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes, or pickled beets would be great additions.  The must-haves: pepperoncinis + kalamata olives + feta.  They’re the perfect mix of Mediterranean flavors that help make your salad a little more Greek, and they’re all so good with the dressing.

The cauliflower if your flavor enhancing veggie (& my pseudo protein).  My very simple trick for curating a more vegetarian heavy meal plan is treat your cauliflower as if it were a piece of chicken.  Use all the same seasonings, follow the roasting instructions, and you’re left with a well seasoned veggie that so easily takes the place of a typical protein.  I am ALWAYS finding salad recipes that involve chicken, and I just sub it for cauliflower florets.  It’s what I did hear, and these savory cauliflower pieces are what pack even more Greek flavors, like paprika + oregano.

My other must-have on pretty much any salad these days - roasted chickpeas.  They’re my go to “crouton” and loved having a salty, crunch bite on this salad.  It’s amazing what a can of garbanzo beans + a pinch of Johnny’s Seasoning salt can turn into (match made in heaven vibes!) 

Creamy Ginger Dressing

I am a mayonnaise girlie + I have no shame about it.  So I 100% love this creamy dressing.  Mayo base that brightened up with fresh lemon + ginger + garlic.  Light + tangy, but the ginger kick is such a fun and tasty twist, and it goes perfectly with all the veggies packed in the salad.

Essentials - fresh tzatziki + warm flatbread

The Tzatziki + warm bread is what makes this meal fun.  We love ordering Mediterranean takeout - eating our falafel salad with warn bread + a dip and taking opportunities to wrap up small bites of our salad in the warn + soft bread is a small pleasure at our house.  Same vibe here.  A little bite of tzatziki with your forkful of salad or wrapping up pieces of cauliflower + veggies in a warm piece of bread makes this very simple salad a little more fun + interactive to dive into.  And we love a little variety in our meals at home.

 
 

Another recommended pairing - a little scoop of hummus or (in our case) my go to bean dip that I pretty regularly have on hand for healthy snacks.  Pairs so well + all times into the Mediterannean theme.

A dreamy dinner salad that we like finish off with a drizzle of sriracha, because when are we not using some sort of hot sauce, and a quick, healthy, and satisfying dinner to throw together on our busier days.

 
 

For the dressing

  • 1/2 c. mayo

  • 1 tsp freshly grated ginger

  • 1 garlic clove, minced

  • Juice of 1/2 a lemon

  • 1 tsp soy sauce

For the salad

  • 1 head of cauliflower, cut into florets

  • 4 garlic cloves, minced

  • 2 shallots, thinly sliced

  • 1 tsp paprika

  • 1 tsp dried oregano

  • Salt + pepper

  • 1 can of chickpeas

  • Seasoning salt blend (like Johnny’s)

  • EVOO

  • A head of romaine lettuce

  • 1 avocado, thinly sliced

  • Handful of cherry tomatoes, halved

  • 1/4 c. kalamata olives, chopped

  • 1/4 c. thinly sliced pepperoncinis

  • 1/4 feta cheese

  • Tzatziki

  • Hummus or mediterranean bean dip

  • Warm flatbread pieces

  • other optional veggies: cukes, slices carrots, marinated artichoke hearts

Start by making the dressing.  Add all ingredients to a mason jar, shake until you have a smooth, well-combined mixture, and set it in the fridge.

Preheat the oven to 425.  Toss the cauliflower, garlic, shallots, paprika, oregano, and a pinch of salt + pepper with 2 tbsp EVOO in a large bowl.  Lay on a foil lined baking sheet, and roast for 20 minutes.  In the same bowl, add the chickpeas + a sprinkle of seasoning salt.  Toss with 1 tbsp of EVOO.  After 20 minutes of roasting, turn the cauliflower pieces + add the chickpeas to the pan.  Roast for another 20 minutes.  Let the pan sit at room temp after the cook time, letting the chickpeas continue to cook and crisp up on the warm baking tray.

In the same bowl you used for the cauliflower + chickpeas, toss the lettuce with 3-4 tbsp of dressing, and toss to coat.  Separate the lettuce among bowls.  Add avocado slices, tomatoes, olives, pepperoncinis, + cheese to each bowl (along with any other veggies you wish to add).  Add a scoop of tender cauliflower + crispy chickpeas over the top.  Drizzle with a touch more dressing if desired.  Add a dollop of tzatziki + hummus to the bowl, + nestle in warm flatbread slices righto on the side.   Add a drizzle of sriracha if you’re like us!

Lesley ZehnerComment