Opa! This is a great Greek Salad
There are some vegetarians who are not big fans of lettuce. I'm one of them.
Even though I am a vegetarian, I am not a big fan of "rabbit food". If I eat a salad, I usually like to make it with spinach, assorted greens or pasta.
Or, a lesser known or less accepted base for salads are beans.
I love beans and, like I said, I'm not a fan of lettuce, so when I got a hankering for a big Greek Salad the other day, I put the salad together with garbanzo beans. I think black beans might work well in this as well, but the garbanzos seemed more Mediterranean to me.
Of course, Greek Salads as we know them are not really Greek. It's more of an American recipe with a little bit of a Greek flair.
Greeks do have a bean dip called Revithosalata, that includes garbanzos, lemon and garlic...sort of like hummus.
This salad is more like a combination of that dip and what we think of as a Greek Salad.
It's pretty and colorful and has a great full-blown flavor that you won't be able to resist. Make this salad a bit ahead because you'll want to chill it to bring all the flavors together.
Greek Garbanzo Salad
2 cans of garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained2 cucumbers, peeled, cut in half, lengthwise, and sliced
12 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1/2 of a red onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 can of black olives, drained and chopped (or buy the cut up kind and just drain)
1 ounce of crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup of Italian-style salad dressing
1/2 of a lemon, juiced
1/2 teaspoon of garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
Cilantro to garnish
- Combine all of the ingredients, except the cilantro, in a bowl.
- Toss together and refrigerate 2 hours before serving.
- Serve chilled and garnished with cilantro.
