"My" Salad Dressing

It might seem weird to put quotes around a possessive here for “my” salad dressing. No, I promise you I do know how to use quotation marks, mostly (someone tell me definitively, do I put the punctuation inside or outside when I’m ending a sentence?). But really, I put the quotes in because I associate ownership of this recipe more with David Lebovitz. It was from his blog where I first got the idea to repurpose leftover salty feta into a salad dressing, and after rereading that post, now I know he actually got the idea from the Joy of Cooking.

You can follow that attribution chain if you like, but on this blog, the ownership of this dressing was bestowed on me by my brother in law, Ryan, who requested I make this dressing during a visit to Boston by asking for “your salad dressing, you know, that one you made one time!”

No, I didn’t know! I have a salad dressing?? Apparently, yes!

That “one time” was way back in December 2017, when I wanted to make a creamy dressing for a wedge salad, but neither I nor my sister like blue cheese dressing, so I needed a substitute, and Claire had some feta in her fridge. I added some vinegar, herbs, and olive oil and blended it all up, and I guess “my dressing” was born.

And really, it doesn’t matter who lays claim to owning this recipe, everyone should be making it! If you make anything with feta you probably have some leftover, and the rest of the ingredients can be whatever favorite vinegars, olive oils, and dried or fresh herbs you have on hand, plus a little ground pepper if you like. I add shallots whenever I have them. And you can even keep it simple and just mash it all into a chunky dressing or go the extra step and blend it until creamy, both are equally delicious.

Whatever you do, just use the good stuff, ok? That pre-crumbled feta isn’t going to work very well here. If you do insist on using it, well, you are the master of your own kitchen, so I can’t stop you.

But in that case, we’ll extend this ownership chain and you can call that “your” dressing, ok?

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Feta Salad Dressing

Inspired by David Lebovitz

• 4 oz feta (a good quality block of it, not pre-crumbled)

• 1 small shallot, minced

• 1/2 tsp dried oregano (or thyme, parsley, etc)

• fresh ground black pepper

• vinegar (sherry, apple cider, red wine, whatever your preference)

• extra virgin olive oil

1. In a bowl, add the feta, shallot and oregano and mash together. Add a little black pepper, then add vinegar, mashing as you add it until you get a loose paste-like consistency. Add in enough olive oil to form a liquid dressing, loosening with a little water if needed (or more vinegar). At this point, you can either serve as is, with small feta chunks visible, or blend the dressing to a creamy, smooth consistency.

2. To serve, toss with your favorite salad ingredients. The dressing works well as a sub for blue cheese dressing in a wedge salad. I especially like it tossed with fragile butter lettuce, radishes sliced paper thin, chives, and sliced avocado, pictured here above.

Souvla Lamb Salad

Sometimes you want to take perfectly succulent meat and fold it into a giant sandwich. Sometimes you want to take everything that would go in the sandwich and toss it up with a giant bowl of mixed greens. That day is today.

There is a small chain of souvlaki restaurants in San Fransisco that I love, called Souvla. And they do both giant sandwiches of roasted lamb and giant salads with it. I’m pretty partial to the salad, which is enormous, but still perfect with a side of fries and some Greek rose wine. 

(But be careful with the wine. One time, a woman in line behind me urged me to go for it, but neither of us apparently knew how to visualize milliliters, because what I thought was essentially two glasses worth of wine turned out to be more than half a bottle. Let’s just say the rest of my evening was slightly more tipsy than planned.)

In another attempt to master a favorite salad at home, I decided to take leftover braised lamb and toss it up in a salad, Souvla style. This salad is stuffed full of goodness, from veggies to meat to cheese to yogurt and harissa to a lemony dressing. It’s meaty and spicy and refreshing and zingy all at once, and a full meal for sure, best served to yourself in a giant mixing bowl. A surplus of rose is optional.

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Giant Lamb Salad

Inspired by Souvla, makes enough for 2-3 large salads

• juice of 1 lemon 
• 1 tsp fresh oregano
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 1 recipe braised lamb, shredded
• 1 tbs harissa
• 1/4 cup whole milk greek yogurt
• 1 cucumber, peeled and cut into large chunks
• 1 cup pickled red onion
• 1 cup thinly sliced radish
• feta (a lot)
• salad greens

1. In a large bowl, whisk together lemon juice, oregano, and enough olive oil to form a vinaigrette. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
2. If you are making one giant salad, pile a bunch of salad greens in the bowl on  top of the dressing, otherwise, portion the dressing out into smaller bowls and add greens to those.
3. Mix together harissa and yogurt in a small bowl, then dollop on top of the piles of greens. top greens with all remaining mix-ins and shower with as much feta as you dare. 
4. Toss salad to combine and completely coat with dressing. Serve immediately.

Asian Pear & Bacon Salad with Furikake Mochi Croutons

Yea, I’ve got a salad for you today! 

My recent recipe collage to the right there is looking a little brown/beige from the pizza/dumpling/pancake/pasta/biscuit kick I’ve been on. But no worries, because today I made a big bowl of greens and tossed in a salty, soy-ginger dressing with a pile of pears, a boiled egg, and yes, a splash of bacon, because I’ve still gotta live a little. The pear brings a nice sweetness and the egg a richness that both balance the salty tang of the dressing, and then the whole pile gets garnished with crispy, chewy mochi bites that have been umami-ed up with some soy sauce and furikake, and it all comes together into a dinner with the flavors of an indulgent rice or ramen bowl, but that gives you a little break from the heavy carbs.

I’m in.

Did you know that you can turn mochi into croutons? I think we all know you can stuff it with ice cream and wrap it in bacon, but if you just cut it up and toss it in the oven for 10 minutes, it puffs and into massive blobs that are crispy on the outside, but with a chewy mochi middle. It’s addictive and delicious and naturally gluten free (if you use Tamari instead of soy sauce) so everyone can enjoy. Just make sure you season the heck out of them, as plain baked mochi tastes a lot like those gross rice cakes we used to snack on in the 90s. Let’s not go back there, ok?

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Asian Pear & Bacon Salad with Furikake Mochi Croutons

Serves 4

For the salad:

• 8 oz salad greens of your choice (I used a mix of baby lettuces and daikon sprouts)
• 4 slices bacon, cut into small strips (lardons) and fried, drained on paper towels
• 2 asian pears, thinly sliced 
• Soy Ginger Dressing (recipe below)
• Furikake mochi croutons (recipe below)
• 4 eggs, boiled to desired doneness and cut in half lenghtwise

1. To assemble the salad, portion greens into a large mixing bowl and add pear slices and bacon. Toss with some of the dressing and taste. Add more dressing if you need it.  Top with the croutons and the boiled egg and serve.

Soy Ginger Dressing:

• 3 tbs low sodium soy sauce
• 3 tbs rice vinegar
• 1 tbs mirin
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 2 tbs canola oil 
• 1/2 tbs grated ginger
• 1 clove garlic, grated

1. Whisk all together and taste. Adjust any vinegar, citrus, or oil levels as needed. Chill in the refrigerator until needed. Can be made ahead.

Furikake Mochi Croutons:

• 6 mochi
• 2 tbs canola oil
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp of Soy Ginger Dressing (optional)
• furikake, for seasoning

1. Heat oven to 450 degrees. Cut mochi into quarters and toss with the oil and soy sauce (and dressing, if using). Arrange pieces on a parchment-lined baking sheet with plenty of room for expanding. Bake 10 minutes, until puffed and golden. Remove from oven and toss with a few good shakes of furikake and let cool. Mochi may deflate a little bit.

Notes:

• You don't have to use asian pears for this if you can't find them, but I love their dry sweetness and extra crispness, so use them if you can find.
• You'll want to very lightly dress this salad and then add more dressing to taste if needed. Even using low sodium soy sauce it's pretty salty. It's all balanced out by the other salad components, but even so use a light hand with it.
• If you want smaller pieces of crouton, you can either cut the mochi into smaller pieces before baking or chop your croutons into smaller pieces.
• You should be able to find mochi refrigerated in most grocery stores or Asian markets, in various flavors. I used plain mochi I bought forever ago at my local Japanese market, but any flavor you like should work. I think it goes without saying that ice cream mochi isn't a substitute here but I'll say it anyway.