This is a repost of a seasonal favorite recipe for entertaining. These little salads were such a hit at Julia’s first birthday party that we served them at her second.
Recently we celebrated our daughter Julia’s first birthday with a small cocktail party at our New York apartment. (Julia worked the room, blew out her candles –with a little help– and then retired to her room at 7:30, as usual.) I wanted to serve hors d’oeuvres that featured the bright flavors of late summer produce. And, since we wanted to make the food for the party ourselves, I also wanted to serve things that we didn’t have to labor over for hours. (In my experience, hors d’oeuvres that require you to do things like tie up little bundles of julienned vegetables with wilted chives seem like a good idea until you’ve made about the tenth one.)
Greek salads were a favorite of ours this summer, and it occurred to me that mini greek salads would be easy and delicious hors d’oeuvre. As it turned out, they came together in just a few minutes and seemed to be crowd-pleasers.
I got the little porcelain serving dishes pictured above at cb2, which is an excellent source of gear for entertaining. (They’re called “porcelain dip dishes” and are available for $0.95 each at http://www.cb2.com) I got the little bamboo forks at Manhattan’s famous Pearl River Mart, located in SOHO at 477 Broadway, between Grand and Broome. (They’re called “bamboo mini forks” and are also available for $0.95 for 50 at http://www.pearlriver.com.) Small ramekins would also work well, I think.
Recipe
Ingredients (for about 24 mini salads)
1 pint of grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
2 small yellow or orange peppers
11/2 to 2 medium hothouse cucumbers, seeded (use the tip of a spoon)
2/3 cup Kalamata olives, pitted
2/3 pound of good Greek feta cheese
1/4 cup good extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tsp dried oregano
salt
freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
The key to making this salad work as cocktail food, I think, is for all of its ingredients to be of roughly equal size and present in roughly equal amounts.
Remove the stems and ribs of the peppers and cut them into about one-inch squares. Cut the seeded cucumbers lengthwise and then crosswise in about half-inch slices. Put the halved tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and olives in a large bowl. If the amounts of the various ingredients seem out of balance, adjust accordingly. Toss. Cut the feta into about one-inch cubes and reserve.
Pour the oil and vinegar into a small bowl. Rub the oregano between your palms over to release its oils and add it to the bowl. (I think the flavor of fresh oregano is too strong for this salad.) Add lots of freshly ground pepper to the dressing, but salt it less than you would for a green salad because the olives and feta are both quite salty. Whisk the dressing and pour it over the salad. Add the feta and gently toss once more. Adjust the seasoning, if necessary, and serve in individual dishes or ramekins with cocktail forks or toothpicks.
