Traditional Food Series ~ Greek Salad & Naan Greek Pizza

Welcome back to our Traditional Food Series!  We are so thrilled to have you here at the Cafe!  Happy Easter to all those who are celebrating!  It's Mary from Sweet Little Bluebird and it's my turn to share a traditional food favorite.  Last week Natalie kicked off this series with her yummy Durban Beef Bunny Chow. For the next 4 weeks, we will each share a dish that comes from our heritage, culture or has a special meaning to us. On the 6th week, we'll be hosting a link party and asking you all to link up your special recipes!

You may have read before, I'm a Greek girl, with a weee little bit of Irish in me, when I shared my Spanakopita Cresent Rolls recipe.  That recipe has feta.  I love FETA cheese. LoVe.  But then again, I'm Greek, I should.  I also love lamb...but I'll focus on lamb another day.   Let's shine the light on Feta today!

For this fun series I am sharing two recipes that have lots and lots of Feta! Greek Salad and my Naan Greek Pizza.   

TRADITIONAL GREEK SALAD RECIPE:

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Ingredients

Romaine lettuce - bite size

Tomatoes - Plum, Cherry, any kind will do, sliced. *seed if you like

Kalamata or Black Olives, Pitted - I used Kalamata

Cucumber - cut to bite size pieces (peeled or unpeeled)

Red Onion - slice to desired size, not too small

Feta Cheese, crumbled  

Directions 

The amount of ingredients above depends on the size of the salad,

use desired amount of each.  Wash lettuce, tear or cut into bite size pieces. Top with desired amount of veggies, olives and feta, drizzle with favorite dressing. Enjoy!

Some additional toppings that go great on a Greek salad are beets and grilled chicken!

Use your favorite Greek store dressing or make your own.  I use Penzeys' Greek Seasoning dressing recipe - pictured below.  It's a staple in my home.  

Penzeys' Greek Salad Dressing Recipe

Mix 2 Tablespoons of Penzeys' Greek seasoning with 2 Tablespoons of water, let stand for 5 minutes. Add ¼ Cup olive oil, ¼ Cup salad oil, 1/3 Cup red wine vinegar (or ¼ cup balsamic vinegar and 2 Tablespoons of water), plus 1 teaspoon of sugar if desired. I love sugar added!

Allrecipes.com has a great Greek House Dressing recipe you can check out too.

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NAAN GREEK PIZZA RECIPE:

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Ingredients

2 Pieces of Traditional Naan 

8 Cups of Fresh Spinach (approx 3 large handfuls) - once cooked, divided equally

8 oz Mozzarella - divided equally

1/4 Cup Crumbled Feta - divided equally 

3 Plum Tomatoes Sliced

Kalamata Olives 

2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 Teaspoons Garlic, minced

Few dashes of Greek Seasoning (I used Penzeys Greek)

Directions 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Lightly spray cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray. Place Naan on cookie sheet (or pizza stone) and brush tops with 1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil, divided equally among the 2 pieces.  In a sauce pan, on medium heat, add 1 Tablespoon of olive oil and the 2 teaspoons of minced garlic, pour spinach on top and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, constantly turning the spinach.  Remove from heat and evenly top pizzas with spinach.  Next, add 4 oz of mozzarella cheese to each pizza.  Top with sliced plum tomatoes.  Sprinkle pizzas with feta cheese and Kalamata olives.  Lightly sprinkle with Greek seasoning.  Bake for 10-12 minutes on middle rack of oven.  Remove, slice & enjoy!

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