Recipe: Feta Salad with Feta Cheese Dressing

Feta Salad with Feta Cheese Dressing
rec.food.cooking/Dog 3 (Michael) (2001)

One of my all time favorites. I made this for dinner tonight. I make the dressing the night before and refrigerate.

You can throw on a few chopped black olives and a bit of chopped pimento if you'd like but when I do this I leave off the pine nuts. You can use Greek olives and tomatoes as garnish. I don't care for the pine nuts with the black olives or pimento. I've also experimented with the basic salad below with gyro meat which is terrific. The basic salad without variations below:

I have used and abused this basic recipe to the delight of family and friends for ages. I happen to love Feta cheese and I've been known to even throw in herbed or peppered Feta in this salad.

3/4 lb spinach leaves, rinsed, cleaned and drained.
1 medium cucumber cut into thin slices
1/2 cup cleaned, sliced radishes
3 sliced, hard boiled eggs
1/4 cup sliced scallion
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
2 oz feta cheese

Arrange spinach in bottom of shallow dish. Top the spinach with cucumber slices, radish slices and sliced eggs. Pour dressing over the top of the salad. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Before serving, sprinkle the top with scallions, pine nuts and cheese.

Feta Cheese Dressing

2 oz feta cheese
1/2 cup mayonnaise (I use Hellmann's or home made)
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp lemon juice (fresh squeezed)
1/2 clove of minced garlic
fresh cracked pepper (your discretion)
1 tbsp grated fresh parmesan cheese

Combine all ingredients, blend well and chill 3-4 hours or overnight. You can also use the variation above by pouring the dressing on the salad, covering and chilling overnight. Sprinkle the top of the salad with scallions, pine nuts and feta cheese. Either way, this makes a great salad. Serve with pita bread stuffed with gyro meat, lettuce, tomato, red onion and cucumber sauce. Of course, a nice loaf of bread with dipping sauce will also make this salad a meal.