For this salad toss the tomatoes, onion, cucumber and pepper with the herbs and half the dressing in a separate bowl, then toss everything together with the spinach. This draws out juices from the tomato and, to a lesser extent, the cucumber; the juices contribute lots of flavor to the salad.
Ingredients
1/2small red onionoptional, sliced
6ouncesbaby spinach
1poundtomatoescut in wedges or diced
1small cucumbercut in half lengthwise, then sliced
8calamata olivespitted and cut in half lengthwise
1green or red pepperthinly sliced
2teaspoonschopped fresh dill
1tablespoonchopped fresh mint
2tablespoonsfresh lemon juice
Salt to taste
5tablespoonsextra virgin olive oil
2ouncesfeta cheesecut in small dice or crumbled
Instructions
Place the onion in a bowl, cover with cold water and let sit for five minutes. Drain, rinse and dry on paper towels. (The reason for soaking the onion is to wash away some of the compounds that cause the onion flavor to linger in your mouth.) Combine with the tomatoes, cucumber, olives, pepper, dill and mint in a large bowl.
Mix together the lemon juice, salt and olive oil. Toss half of the dressing with the tomato mixture and half with the spinach. Combine everything in one bowl, add the feta, toss together thoroughly and serve.
Notes
Advance preparation: You can prepare the ingredients and dressing several hours before you toss the salad. Keep them in the refrigerator.October 2012