Happy June 1st everyone, and welcome to the first day of Summer of Salads! I thought I would kick things off with my favorite, this Farm Fresh Spicy Greek Salad. It will satisfy your Mediterranean taste buds and leave you wanting more!
This recipe is my version of my go-to order at Corelife Eatery. I easily became obsessed with Corelife, and found that I needed to recreate the recipe or I was going to blow our budget. It is so convenient being able to pick up healthy meals, but the cost adds up. I found that by picking out some of my favorite ingredients they use, I got pretty close to their recipe. After multiple trial and errors, I created my perfect Greek salad! I honestly cannot stop eating this. Even before I started dreaming up the Summer of Salads bit, I was making this at least three times a week. The secret ingredient? The dressing!
Why So Spicy?
To be honest, the salad isn’t really spicy. It is called a Spicy Greek Salad because of the little bit of hot sauce in the dressing. The hot sauce adds a small, salty kick that I found was missing from my initial salad recipes. It wasn’t until after several trips to Corelife that I realized there was Sriracha in their dressing! Fast forward to my recipe trials, I didn’t want to use that due to the added sugars. I found that regular, sugar-free hot sauce added the same zing that was needed to take my salad to the next level. Ultimately, I took my favorite Mediterranean flavors and used them to create the dressing, instead of trying to recreate theirs. The combination of the hot sauce, lemon juice, and hummus makes an unusual, but delightful dressing that can’t be beat.
Summer of Salads Side Note…
This recipe was actually the inspiration for my Summer of Salads. I envisioned a summer-long theme that focused on eating healthier, but not compromising on time or flavor. Summer is busy, and busy schedules tend to lead to unhealthy eating. I also wanted to highlight something fresh, because Summer is a time when farms and produce flourish. It then dawned on me that Summer is my favorite time for fresh salads! Living in Lancaster, there is fresh produce galore! Unfortunately, many people believe that salads can only be one of two things… either 1. boring or 2. unhealthy. That is absolutely not the case, and I am here to help erase that stigma with my Summer of Salads!
Farm Fresh Spicy Greek Salad
Ingredients
- 1/2 bunch large kale fresh
- 2 cups spinach
- 1 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
- pinch of salt
- 2 Tbs feta crumbled
- 1 Tbs hot sauce
- 2 Tbs hummus plain or garlic
- 1 lemon juiced
- 2 Tbs red onion diced
- 5 cherry tomatoes halved
- 5 slices cucumbers
- 7 kalamata olives halved
Optional
- 1/2 cup quinoa
- 4 oz chicken breast
- 1 tsp dill
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 pita bread
Instructions
- If desired, prepare quinoa OR chicken*
- Wash and strip kale from stalks and tear up into a large bowl
- Tear up the spinach and mix well with the kale
- Combine the EVOO, salt, hot sauce, feta, lemon juice, and hummus in the bowl with the leafy greens
- Toss the salad well, coating all leaves with the dressing ingredients
- Dice and halve all of the veggies, toss in salad and serve!
Notes
Nutrition
Will Subscribe for Salads!
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All images and text ©Alexis Stambaugh for Passport Flavor™
I'm a 20-something foodie with a passion for travel. As a self taught chef, I believe food is what brings us together. When I'm not in my kitchen creating recipes, I love connecting with people as I experience cuisines from other cultures. Come join me on my culinary and travel adventures!