Greek salad always strikes me as being a very dated dish. Perhaps it's because I associate it as being a 1970s dinner party classic from flicking through old Marguerite Patten cookbooks as a child. It was one of those tinted photographs alongside Quiche Lorraine and Russian beef stroganoff. Regardless, it is a true classic and should not be ignored because of that. It can be updated if desired with some thin ribbons of kale or by using fennel instead of cucumber, as Nigella Lawson does.
Ideally this Greek salad should be made from perfectly ripe tomatoes that have never been inside a fridge and are still warm from the sun. During summer months, use a selection of different tomatoes. In the meantime, I like to use small, sweet cherry tomatoes or plum tomatoes, the nicest quality I can find.
I like to keep them out of the fridge for at least a few hours before I make this. I keep the scooped-out seeds for smoothies. The only reason I remove them is because they make this salad too watery. Plump, dark purple Kalamata olives are best for this, but use any good-quality ones you can find.
If you have a red onion to hand, thinly slice half of it and add it to this simple salad. A whole array of herbs work great with this, too. I was delighted to discover that marjoram and oregano are almost as hardy as mint plants and grow well without much need for attention. A few leaves are perfect for adding to this. Dill or mint make fantastic additions too, and all of the herbs mentioned are ideal with lamb.
Toonsbridge Dairy in Cork makes a feta-style cheese from their buffalo milk. It’s a little firmer than the creamy soft goat or sheep feta cheese, but it does taste amazingly fresh, and it is fantastic to have a local option. I love feta and use it to bind burgers and meatballs. For one of my favourite feta recipes, I place a block of the cheese in a small oven-proof dish, then scatter with chopped fresh tomatoes, slices of onion, some olives and herbs such as basil and oregano. I cover this with foil and bake for 15 minutes. It creates an instant fondue-style dish that is perfect with crusty bread for dipping. It’s such a simple but delicious way to enjoy feta.
Leftovers from this salad make a great packed lunch when mixed with a grain such as quinoa and some herbs. Or remove any cucumber and use the feta and tomato mix to top fish fillets such as hake or pollock, and then bake.
This salad is equally good served with lamb meatballs or falafel. It’s the season for roasting entire legs of lamb, so instead of going the traditional rosemary-and-garlic route, slow-roast the lamb leg rubbed with a fragrant mixture of ground cumin and coriander.
Serve with some garlic-laced hummus, creamy tzatziki and warm pitta breads to elevate this from a simple supper to a Grecian feast. I love cooking orzo, the little rice-like pasta, in plenty of salted water, then stirring through some butter and plenty of finely chopped parsley. It’s the sort of sociable food that’s ideal for when the weather gets milder.
LAMB CHOPS WITH GREEK SALAD: SERVES 4
The five ingredients
- 4-8 lamb loin chops
- 1 cucumber
- 250g cherry tomatoes
- Handful of black olives
- 200g feta cheese
From the pantry
- Olive oil
- Black pepper
Method
First make the salad. Halve the cucumber lengthways and use a teaspoon to scoop out the watery seeds. Chop the remainder into cubes. Place in a bowl along with a handful of black olives. Halve the cherry tomatoes and add to the bowl. Roughly crumble the feta. It will break up more when you are stirring the salad. Drizzle with a little olive oil and then gently mix everything together. Set aside for the flavours to develop. This won’t need any salt due to the feta but add a little black pepper if needed.
Place one tablespoon of oil in a heavy-based frying pan over a medium heat. Season the lamb chops with salt and pepper, then fry for three to five minutes on each side, depending on how well-cooked you want them. Ideally keep them a little pink. Serve with the salad.
Every Thursday we’ll tweet the five ingredients from @lillyhiggins and @irishtimeslife so you can have them ready for Friday. Email givemefive@irishtimes.com with your suggestions for recipes
