Grilled Greek Summer Salad Food

GREEK GRILLED CHICKEN SALAD

Steps:

• Season and marinate the chicken tenders. In a large bowl, mix together the yogurt, olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, garlic, salt, and spices. Add the chicken tenders and mix to make sure chicken is well coated with the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes (or refrigerate overnight, if you like)
• Prepare the dressing according to this Greek dressing recipe.
• Prepare the salad. In a large bowl, combine the lettuce, cherry tomatoes, bell pepper, cucumber slices, shallots and kalamata olives. Add 4 tablespoons of the Greek dressing and toss to combine (you can always add more dressing to your liking). Leave some of the dressing (about 3 tablespoons or so) for later. Add feta cheese to your liking.
• Cook the chicken. Heat 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil in a non-stick skillet over medium-high until shimmering but not smoking. Add chicken tenders to the pan (make sure to shake off any excess marinade before adding chicken to the pan.) Cook on one side undisturbed for 5 minutes until browned. Using a pair of tongs, turn chicken over and cook on other side for another 5 minutes or until chicken is done. (See notes for outdoor grilling)
• Assemble the grilled chicken salad. Transfer the salad to serving bowls and top each bowl with the cooked chicken then drizzle a bit more of the salad dressing directly over the chicken. Serve immediately.

GRILLED GREEK SALAD

Steps:

• Cut 3 romaine hearts in half lengthwise. Brush the cut sides with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill cut-side down over medium-high heat until well marked, 1 to 2 minutes, then flip and cook 1 more minute. Transfer to a cutting board and chop. Toss with Greek salad dressing, chopped tomatoes, sliced red onion and cucumber, kalamata olives and crumbled feta.

CRISPY GRILLED HARISSA SHRIMP GREEK SALAD

Steps:

• For the shrimp: Combine the harissa powder, turbinado sugar, baking soda, granulated garlic, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Toss the shrimp with the dry spices. Skewer and place on a rack in the fridge for 1 hour.
• Preheat the grill to medium-high heat. Oil the grill grates and grill the shrimp until charred and crispy, 2 to 3 minutes a side.
• For the sweet Greek dressing: Whisk together the vinegar, honey, mustard, oregano, garlic, salt and pepper in a bowl. Slowly stream in the oil to emulsify. Adjust the seasoning if necessary.
• For the salad: Arrange the lettuce, olives, cucumbers, tomatoes and Pickled Red Onions on a platter, then drizzle with the sweet Greek dressing and top with the grilled shrimp skewers. Serve.
• Simmer the vinegar, salt, sugar and 1/2 cup water in a medium pot until dissolved. Add the onions and turn off the heat. Let sit until cool. Transfer to resealable container, then place in the refrigerator overnight.

GRILLED GREEK PANZANELLA SALAD

Steps:

• Prepare a grill or large grill pan for high heat. Whisk the lemon zest and juice, vinegar, honey, oregano and a pinch each of salt and pepper in a large bowl. Whisk in 1/2 cup of the oil in a slow, steady stream until emulsified.
• Peel the cucumbers , leaving alternating strips of green peel. Trim the ends, halve the cucumbers lengthwise and slice them crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Add them to the bowl with the dressing. Add the chickpeas.
• Brush the pitas on both sides with 2 tablespoons of the oil, and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Thread 6 or 7 tomatoes on each skewer. (If using wooden skewers, leave just 1/2 inch sticking out on each end so you do not have to soak them.) Brush the remaining 2 tablespoons oil on the tomatoes and the onions, and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper.
• Place the pitas, skewered tomatoes and onions on the grill. Grill the pitas, flipping and rotating frequently, until charred in spots on both sides and crispy, 4 to 5 minutes. Grill the onions, turning as needed, until charred and tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Grill the tomatoes, turning occasionally, until lightly charred in spots and starting to burst, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer the pitas and vegetables to a large cutting board when done cooking.
• When cool enough to handle, cut the pitas into 1-inch pieces and roughly chop the onions into bite-size pieces. Add them to the bowl with the cucumbers, chickpeas and dressing. Add the tomatoes, feta, kalamata olives and dill. Gently toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper if needed. (Be careful with seasoning at this point, because the feta and olives are very salty.) Let the salad sit at room temperature for at least 15 minutes before serving, drizzled with olive oil.

GRILLED GIARDINIERA SALAD

Steps:

• Preheat a grill for cooking on high heat. Clean and oil the grates with vegetable oil.
• Combine the vinegar, salt, sugar, oregano, peppercorns, garlic and 1 cup water in a small pot. Bring to a simmer, whisking occasionally, to make sure the sugar and salt are dissolved. Let cool completely.
• Place the rainbow peppers, carrots, serrano peppers and cauliflower steaks directly on the grill (do not grill the celery; keep it raw!). Grill until charred with grill marks, about 5 minutes a side. Set aside to cool on a wire-racked sheet pan. Once cooled, it's time to chop!
• Slice the carrots and celery 1/2-inch-thick on a sharp 45-degree angle bias. Keep the rainbow peppers and serranos whole. Cut the cauliflower florets off the woody stems and trim into individual 1-inch florets.
• Place the chopped veggies into a 1-gallon resealable bag or container. Pour the vinegar mixture directly on the veggies. Stir around and let sit in the fridge at least 3 hours, but ideally overnight.
• Drain the veggies from the brine and place on a paper towel-lined sheet pan. Reserve the brine. Arrange the pickled veggies in groups on a large, long platter, in other words, carrots, then peppers, then celery. Whisk together 3/4 cup of the brine with the olive oil and Dijon in a bowl until combined. Season to taste. Drizzle the vinaigrette over the veggies and top with the ricotta salata, celery leaves and olives. Or serve the veggies directly on freshly grilled Italian sausage or sausages sandwiches and top with ricotta salata, olives and celery tops!

GRILLED SHRIMP GREEK SALAD

Steps:

• Prepare grill for cooking.
• Make dressing:
• Whisk together 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 3 tablespoons oil, half of oregano, half of garlic, and salt and pepper to taste in a large bowl.
• Gently stir tomatoes, cucumber, and onion into dressing and let stand at room temperature while grilling.
• Marinate shrimp:
• Whisk together remaining 2 tablespoons lemon juice and remaining oregano and garlic in a large bowl. Stir in shrimp until well coated and marinate at room temperature 10 minutes.
• Grill pitas and bell pepper while shrimp marinates:
• Lightly brush pitas and bell pepper on both sides with some oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill pitas on an oiled rack set 5 to 6 inches over glowing coals until browned and slightly crisp, about 2 minutes on each side, then transfer to a rack to cool (pitas will continue to crisp as they cool).
• Grill bell pepper until just softened, about 1 1/2 minutes on each side.
• Grill shrimp:
• Add remaining tablespoon oil to shrimp and toss to coat. Thread 4 shrimp lengthwise, each facing in same direction (so shrimp will lay flat on grill), on each skewer without crowding. Season shrimp with salt and pepper.
• Grill shrimp until just cooked through, about 2 minutes on each side.
• Break pitas into bite-size pieces and coarsely chop bell pepper. Remove shrimp from skewers and gently stir into tomato mixture with pitas, bell pepper, feta, and salt and pepper to taste.