This well-balanced salad hits all the notes for me: bright, crunchy, salty, sweet, nutty, grassy, and fresh. A base of crisp romaine is topped with shaved carrots, sweet tomatoes, and green onions along with briny feta cheese, tender chickpeas, and salty-crunchy pita chips.
You can add other fresh vegetables, like sliced cucumbers or shaved radishes, or swap out chopped heirloom tomatoes for the cherry tomatoes and tiny sliced rainbow carrots for the shaved carrots. For a heartier salad with more protein, add a few handfuls of shredded cooked chicken.
The simple dressing—which makes more than you’ll need—is a snap to make when you make it in a small mason jar, and can be prepared up to 5 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator. Just bring it to room temperature, and check the consistency, before dressing the salad with it. (It’s also great drizzled over falafel or grilled eggplant and peppers, wrapped in fresh pita bread.)
Recipe: Mediterranean Salad
Makes 4 to 6 servings
Ingredients:
Tahini-Lemon Dressing
- 6 tbsp tahini
- Juice of 1 1/2 to 2 lemons
- 1 large garlic clove, minced
- Kosher salt
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 3 to 4 tablespoons water, plus more if needed
Mediterranean Salad
- About 6 cups chopped hearts of romaine
- 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 2 to 3 organic carrots, shaved
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- 4 green onions, sliced
- About 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- About 1 cup roughly broken pita chips
