august 1, 2019

When the heat index hit triple digits this summer, the idea of generating more heat in the house with actual cooking seemed foreign to me. All this lovely local produce needed to be enjoyed with a minimum of fuss and bother. Enter the chunky flavorful salad dressing with feta and herbs.

Cooking for a client one afternoon I noticed a bottle of commercial dressing in the fridge with bits of feta, slick with olive oil and murky with tangy balsamic vinegar. Why didn’t I think of this? It looked intriguing and it tasted pretty good. The oregano in my deck pots needed a good trim, there is plenty of tasty organic balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil in the pantry and feta cheese is a given.

There is also a cute volunteer sungold tomato plant yielding little orbs of tomato sweetness in the front yard and a very thoughtful neighbor who gives the occasional crisp cucumber. This salad and its flavorful dressing were meant to be and all came together easily without a smidge of heat.

Not just a salad dressing, this could be a sauce for grilled veggies or proteins and combined with greek yogurt for a smooth topping for raw summer vegetables. Easy, versatile and no heat. Ahhh.

Feta Oregano Dressing

recipe by Michele Humlan, The Good Eats Company

makes about one cup

ingredients

one large clove garlic, zested on microplane grater
2 teaspoons creamy Dijon mustard
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
large pinch finely ground white pepper
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano (from about ½ cup of leaves)
½ cup loosely packed finely crumbled feta cheese

directions

1. In small mixing bowl, whisk together vinegar, garlic, mustard, salt and pepper.
2. Whisk in olive oil in a thin stream, then stir in oregano and feta cheese.
3. Flavors develop best when allowed to settle at least an hour, but can be enjoyed right away.
4. Will last in the refrigerator for several weeks; allow to sit at room temp 20 minutes for olive oil to soften.
5. Great on salads, as a topping for raw vegetables and on grilled proteins.