greek-ish salad dip

equals parts salad and dip, plus my favorite way to make super pink pickled red onions

greek salads are hands down my favorite summer salads. i say “salads” plural because i’m talking about both the more well-known horiatiki greek salad—tomato, cucumber, onion, feta, olives with salt, oregano, lemon or vinegar, olive oil—and maroulosalata—romaine, cucumber, dill and/or parsley, scallion, feta, lemon, olive oil. this dip was heavily inspired by my love of the two salads mentioned above but, as you’ll soon see, there’s not an entirely clear through line from the sources of inspo to the end recipe. in any case, i hope you can take “greek-ish” in the recipe title to mean just what it implies; a nod to the country whose dishes inspired the general flavors and ingredients of this salad-y dip.

if you’ve been here for awhile, you already know how i see recipes: as a blueprint, a jumping off point, an outline. so it’s no surprise that the thing that i love most about this one is that it can swing from a full on summer lunch or dinner salad right across the aisle to a picnic friendly dip that demands to be served amongst a spread. i personally prefer it as i’ve written it below, as a knife-an-fork-salad-slash-dip with generous chunks of salted cucumber and tomato dripping in frizzled garlicky herb oil atop salty, pickle-y, feta-y yogurt, but you can adjust it to fit your particular wants and needs. here’s what i mean:

• if you lean salad: leave the pickles out of the dip, spreading the feta and yogurt in the bottom of a bowl or rimmed plate. toss the pickles (you could also use raw red onion here), cukes and tomatoes with chopped lettuce and the (slightly cooled) herb oil, before plating over the dip and serving as a fork-able salad. add chicken breast, chickpeas, croutons or a few spoonfuls of a cooked grain to make it heartier.

• if you lean dip: make the dip as per the recipe below. dice the cucumbers and tomatoes into slightly smaller than bite-size pieces and finish as per the recipe. serve with a spoon and bread for dipping and scooping.

• for a bruschetta vibe: make the dip as per the recipe below then spread onto toasted bread slices. dice the cucumbers and tomatoes into slightly smaller than bite-size pieces before tossing with the oil and herbs and nestling by the spoonful onto each piece of dip-slathered bread.

• to strip it way back: forget the cucumbers and tomatoes altogether and simply mix the feta and yogurt with pickle brine and spread onto a plate. make the oil and top your dip with it, serving with bread, pickled peppers and red onions on the side as desired.

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serves 4

for the dip

200 grams feta cheese (i also like this with a soft, salty bulgarian white cheese called sirene or turkish beyaz penir)

50 grams full-fat yogurt

1 - 2 tablespoons pickled pepper brine (substitute: lemon juice)

1 heaping tablespoon pickled peppers (optional)

1 heaping tablespoon pickled red onions (optional; keep scrolling for the recipe)

2 scallions

freshly ground black pepper to taste

for the oil

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 clove garlic

1 teaspoon dried mint

1 teaspoon dried oregano

to serve

150 grams cucumber (about 1/2 english cucumber or 2-3 persian cucumbers)

150 grams tomato (about 1 medium heirloom or beefsteak tomato)

1 teaspoon salt

fresh basil or dill for garnish (optional)

bread (i like toasted slices of baguette, focaccia, or warm flatbread, but strong seedy crackers could also be nice here)

1. start by chopping the cucumber and tomato as desired (bigger for a knife and fork situation, smaller for a more true to its name dip situation), then set in a colander and sprinkle with salt to help pull out some of their liquid.

2. to make the dip, add feta, yogurt and half the pickled pepper brine to a bowl and use a fork to mash together until well combined; you can also do this in a food processor. chop the pickled onions and peppers finely and add to the mixture. thinly slice scallions into rounds, setting the whites aside for the oil and adding most of the greens to the dip, reserving some for garnish. mix to combine and season with pepper to taste. if it’s too thick, mix in more pickled pepper brine as desired before spreading onto a serving platter.

3. add olive oil to a small frying pan over medium heat. once shimmering, grate the garlic clove into the pan then add dried mint, dried oregano and the scallion whites. once sizzling and fragrant (this doesn’t take long, maybe 1 - 2 minutes), remove from the heat.

4. arrange the cucumber and tomatoes onto the serving platter with the dip. pour the oil over everything and garnish with reserved scallions and fresh basil or dill as desired. serve with a spoon and your favorite bread for dipping. if you have leftovers, they can be stored in the fridge for up to a day.

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pickled onions cosplaying as jewels

how to make the best pickled red onions: peel, halve and thinly slice red onions and add to a small pot. add lime juice (how much depends on how many onions you do, but I would say about 1 lime for every 2 onions), a hearty pinch of salt and a hearty pinch of granulated sugar to the pot and bring to a boil over high heat. let cook for 30 seconds or so, just to slightly soften the onions, then transfer to an airtight container to cool. press them down with a bit of force so that the liquid pretty much covers all the onions. store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.