I sincerely hope that you all share my love of salads. When I stated they’re all I want to eat at this time of year, I wasn’t joking. They are everything I want to eat, cook, and share on my vegetarian food blog since I only want to prepare them. Who is in favor of more salads in the summer? Aye!
A salad from The Mixx in Kansas City served here served as a major inspiration for these gorgeous dishes. When I return from a trip and discover an empty fridge, I go to my favorite salad restaurant. Always available is a tasty seasonal salad.
An olive relish-topped Mediterranean wedge salad with the other ingredients you see here was the seasonal choice a few months ago. I snapped a picture and noted the ingredients since it was tasty, fun to eat, and fresh.
I simply cut my heads of romaine lettuce in half, but I kept the word “wedge” in the title because these salads remind me of iceberg wedge salads. The only error I made was adding the feta to the tomato salad portion, which slightly dulled the colors. I wrote the recipe with the feta sprinkled on top since it makes them seem prettier. (The feta is, incidentally, optional.)
The salads are described as being fairly substantial, epic side salads. By adding chickpeas to the tomato salad and/or pairing them with quinoa, you may make them into complete meals. In the recipe notes, I’ve added a little extra information. Which types of salads are you yearning this summer? Please let me know! Any recipe ideas are welcome at any time.
Also read: Arugula & Watermelon Salad
INGREDIENTS
Salad
- 2 heads of romaine
- 1 ½ cups halved or quartered cherry tomatoes, depending on their size
- ⅔ cup chopped seeded cucumber (about ½ medium garden cucumber)
- ⅔ cup chopped celery (about 2 ribs)
- ¼ cup pitted and halved Kalamata olives
- 1 shallot, very thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- Pinch of salt
Lemon-tahini dressing
-
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 to 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons tahini
- 2 to 3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- ½ teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Garnishes
- ¼ cup crumbled feta cheese (optional)
- ¼ cup finely chopped fresh mint and/or basil
INSTRUCTIONS
- To prepare the salads: Halve the heads of romaine lengthwise, all the way through their bases so the halves stay intact. Set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the tomatoes, cucumber, celery, olives, shallot, lemon juice, and a pinch of salt. Toss to combine and set aside to marinate.
- To prepare the dressing: In a liquid measuring cup or small bowl, combine all of the ingredients, starting with the lower amounts of lemon juice and garlic. Whisk to blend. Taste, and add more lemon juice if it tastes bitter or needs more zip, and more garlic if it could pack more of a punch (I like my dressing on the garlicky side). Season generously with pepper, whisk again, and set aside.
- To assemble: Place each romaine halve on its own dinner plate. Top each one generously with the tomato salad mixture. With a spoon, drizzle the dressing rather liberally over the salads, then finish them with a sprinkle of feta (if using) and chopped herbs. Serve immediately, with sharp butter or steak knives to aid slicing.