Greek-ish salad with nectarines

Servings: 4
It would be remiss of me to collate a book of great salads without including a nod to the classics, though when it comes to canonical combos like this one, we can often get stuck in our ways. The surprise here is the stone fruit, which pops with sour–sweetness to elevate the lot. If this is a step too far for you, leave it out. The herbed feta is a Greek gift that keeps on giving: drama on delivery, and it turns the lot greener once you stir. If your telegraph cucumber’s seeds aren’t too fibrous, feel free to zebra peel (taking off half the skin in lengthways stripes) without scooping out the guts.
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Ingredients 

  • 200 g 7 oz juicy kalamata olives, drained
  • 1 red onion halved and finely sliced
  • 2 red capsicums (peppers) deseeded and finely sliced into half moons
  • 1 telegraph cucumber zebra peeled and gutted, cut into 1 cm (3/8 inch) chunks
  • 5 sweet truss tomatoes about 500 g (1 lb 2 oz), cut into quarters
  • 2 firm sweet free-stone nectarines stoned and cut into fine wedges

HONEY–OREGANO DRESSING

  • 1 garlic clove minced
  • 1 tbsp runny honey
  • 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
  • ¼ cup (60 ml) lemon juice
  • 2 tsp dijon mustard
  • ½ teaspoon salt flakes
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh oregano
  • ½ teaspoon dried Greek oregano
  • ¼ cup 60 ml extra virgin olive oil
  • ½ teaspoon salt flakes

HERBED FETA

  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil plus extra for serving
  • 2 tbsp finely chopped mint reserving some whole leaves to garnish
  • ¼ cup finely chopped parsley reserving smaller whole leaves to garnish
  • 100 g (3½ oz) Greek feta drained and chilled on paper towel in the fridge

Instructions 

  • To make the honey–oregano dressing, whisk garlic, honey, vinegar, lemon zest and juice, mustard, salt and the fresh and dried oregano together in a large bowl.
  • If the kalamata olives are with-pit and you’d prefer that they weren’t (this is totally personal preference: not pitting saves time, pitting saves a trip to the dentist!) arrange the olives in batches on the chopping board and use the base of an olive oil bottle to squash them and release the pip. You can also squash them one by one with your thumb and index finger if you’re up for a meditative task.
  • To make the herbed feta, dry the chopping board and finely chop the herbs, then squash them together to form a fuzzy green bed. Drizzle the olive oil onto the feta, then press the feta block into the herbs on all sides, so that it looks like it’s had a run-in with the lawnmower.
  • Just before serving, add the prepared ingredients – the olives, onion, capsicum, cucumber, tomato and nectarine – to the dressing in the bowl and toss well to coat.
  • Transfer into a serving bowl, then prop the slab of herbed feta on top, finishing with some extra olive oil and the reserved pretty leaves, scattered from a height, to finish.

Notes

Recipe from Salad for Days (Murdoch Books)

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