Grilled Greek Salad Recipe
By
Aida Mollenkamp
Difficulty: Easy |
Total Time:
30 mins, plus marinating time
|
Active Time:
|
Makes:
6 servings
In this take on a Greek salad, everything gets charred on the grill and served warm, with a drizzling of Oregano Marinade. We like it best when all the elements are chopped up and tossed with the dressing, so each bite is loaded with cheese, veggies, and herbs.
What to buy: Halloumi is a Cypriot cheese, sold in blocks in many gourmet grocery stores. It has a high melting point, making it perfect for grilling. Kalamatas are a Greek variety of black olive, found in most grocery stores.
Special equipment: Use wooden or metal skewers to make the kebabs.
Game plan: If you’re using wooden skewers, soak them in warm water for 30 minutes beforehand, so they don’t burn on the grill.
INGREDIENTS
- 3 medium Roma tomatoes
- 8 ounces halloumi cheese
- 1/2 medium red onion
- 1 cup Oregano Marinade
- 6 skewers
- 3 medium hearts of romaine, halved lengthwise
- Olive oil
- 18 to 24 kalamata olives (about 1/4 pound)
INSTRUCTIONS
- Heat a grill to medium heat (about 350°F).
- Quarter tomatoes, cut cheese into 12 cubes, and slice onion lengthwise into six wedges and combine everything in a large bowl. Season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper, cover with 1/2 cup of marinade, and gently toss until everything is evenly coated.
- On a skewer, thread 1 tomato quarter, 1 halloumi cube, and 1 onion wedge, followed by another tomato quarter and another halloumi cube. Repeat to make 6 skewers. Place the skewers in a large, shallow dish, pour any marinade in the bowl over top, cover, and refrigerate. Allow to marinate for at least 15 minutes and up to 12 hours.
- When the grill is heated, remove the kebabs from the marinade, allowing any excess to drip away before placing them on the grill. Cook, turning kebabs every 3 to 4 minutes, until vegetables are tender and charred and cheese is soft; total cooking time will be about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, brush romaine with olive oil, season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and set aside in a cool place until ready to grill.
- About 3 minutes before the kebabs are finished, place romaine, cut side down, on the grill and cook until slightly wilted and charred on the cut side, about 3 minutes.
- To serve, transfer grilled romaine, kebabs, and olives to a large serving platter. (If desired, remove cheese and vegetables from the skewers and chop all salad ingredients.) Drizzle a few tablespoons of the remaining 1/2 cup marinade over the salad, passing extra on the side.
Greek salads are great with greek cheeses but in my opinion better with italian ones. I love using pecorini or marzolini to carry out greek salad (have a look at http://www.renieri.net/pecorini_e.html if you do not know what I mean) but every kind of italian soft cheese sounds good...
Delicious! Thanks for making my night w/ this recipe.
All apologies to my Cypriot friends---but there's a very decent substitute for Halloumi, which tends to be expensive.
In most grocery stores that lie in proximity to or serve Puerto Rican and Dominican communities, you can get Queso Freir ("frying cheese") for a fraction of the cost.
Can't wait to try it! You can do something similar for ratatouille as well. The grilling adds a whole new dimension!
This salad sounds really good.. I wonder if it would translate in to a good lunch special?..
el Mitch: Thanks for looking out; you are correct. My Cypriot friend is cursing me for the incorrect attribution! ;)
Just unbelievable and healthier than wilted lettuce and bacon I'm accustomed to.
Great presentation as well.
Great salad. The romaine was terrific grilled and the veggies got slightly carmelized. I used a different greek salad dressing as I didn't have fresh oregano. Will definitely make again w/ fresh oregano and perhaps artichokes and zuchinni.
I think halloumi is actually a Cypriot cheese. Greek or not, this salad still sounds delicious.