Greek Salad

I love Greek salad.  (I love Greek food, but that's a different post entirely!)  Spring, summer, fall, or winter, I never seem to tire of cucumbers, tomato, feta, and olives piled on a bed of romaine and drizzled with red wine vinegar and olive oil.  Add chickpeas, grilled chicken, red onion, artichokes, and pepperoncini, and you've got yourself one delicious lunch!

YIELD: 4 quart-sized salads

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups chickpeas, drained and patted dry
• 1/4 c red wine vinegar
• 1/4 c extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 tsp Greek seasoning
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt (only if your seasoning doesn't contain salt)
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 small red onion, diced
• 16 olives (pitted or whole, green, kalamata, whatever you love!)
• 8 pepperoncini
• 8 whole canned artichoke hearts, quartered
• 4 oz feta, crumbled
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, grilled or broiled and diced
• 2 c cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
• 1 large cucumber, halved and sliced
• 2-3 hearts of romaine, shredded

DIRECTIONS:

1. Make the marinaded chickpeas: combine the chickpeas, red wine vinegar, olive oil, Greek seasoning, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.  Allow the chickpeas to marinade for 20 minutes (or longer.) 
2. Pack the salads: divide the chickpeas evenly among 4 tall quart-sized containers.  Layer the red onion, olives, pepperoncini, artichokes, feta, chicken, tomatoes, cucumber, and romaine in the jars. Refrigerate until serving.
3. Enjoy your salad: invert your salad onto a plate or into a bowl.

TIME-SAVING TIPS: Use 1 can chickpeas, drained, rinsed, and patted dry, for the home-cooked beans.

SPECIAL DIET SWAPS: This salad is gluten- and nut-free as-is.  For a vegetarian salad, omit the chicken.  For a vegan salad, also substitute your favorite vegan feta for the dairy feta, or double the quantity of marinaded chickpeas.

Food styling, photography, and infographics by Robert Campbell.