Chopped Greek Salad With Garlic Croutons Recipes

Steps:

• 1. for the garlic croutons: position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 375°. Put the bread cubes in a large bowl. In a small pan, heat the oil and garlic over medium heat until the garlic just begins to color, 3 to 5 minutes. Be careful garlic doesn't burn or it will become bitter. Pour the oil through a strainer onto bread cubes. Toss until the cubes are evenly coated with oil. Discard the garlic
• 2. Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet and toast the bread in the oven, flipping occasionally, until it's nicely Golden on all sides, about 12 minutes. The croutons should be toasty on the surface but still somewhat soft in the middle. Return them to the large bowl and while warm, toss them with the parsley, lemon zest, 1/4 teaspoons salt, and a few grinds of pepper.
• 3. For the dressing: in a medium bowl, whisk the olive oil with the vinegar, shallots, mustard, oregano, anchovies. Add salt and pepper to taste. Let sit for at least 10 minutes to let the flavors blend.
• 4. To assemble the salad: lay the arugula on a large platter and artfully arranged the tomatoes, cucumber, olives, feta, and croutons in stripes or piles on top of the arugula. Whisk the dressing to recombine and serve in a pitcher. Encourage guests to spoon elements of the salad onto their plates and drizzle on some of the dressing. Or drizzle the dressing over the salad platter just before serving. You may not need all of the dressing. Serves 6 to 8.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Place bread on a rimmed baking sheet.
• Whisk together oil, butter, garlic, salt, and pepper in a liquid measure. Pour mixture over the bread and toss with your hands until evenly coated. Spread bread mixture into a single layer. Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown and toasted, yet slightly soft in the center, 15 to 18 minutes, tossing croutons a few times during baking. Remove from the oven and let cool completely while you prepare the salad.
• Place garlic, anchovies, and salt in a large salad serving bowl; press the mixture with a fork until a paste forms. Stir in egg yolk, lemon juice, Dijon, and Worcestershire sauce until well combined. Slowly whisk in olive oil until all is incorporated and mixture is well blended and smooth. Stir in 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Remove about 1/4 cup of dressing and set aside for another use.
• When ready to serve, add lettuce and 1/2 of the croutons to the bowl with the remaining dressing; toss until well coated. Reserve remaining croutons for another use.
• Sprinkle salad with additional Parmesan and pepper if desired. Serve immediately.

Steps:

• Make croutons: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Pull 1- to 2-inch chunks from the inside of the sourdough bread and add to a small mixing bowl (you should have about 1 to 1½ cups of bread crumbs). Drizzle with the olive oil and season with salt, mixing well with your hands to combine. Spread the bread in a single layer on a large, rimmed baking sheet and toast for 25 minutes.
• Remove the croutons from the oven and set aside to cool. Marinate tomatoes: Remove and discard any stems. Cut into varying sizes, then place the cut tomatoes on a plate and season with salt. Drizzle with olive oil. Tear and scatter the basil and parsley leaves over the tomatoes.While the tomatoes are marinating, prepare the feta cheese. Drizzle the cheese with olive oil and freshly ground black pepper, and set aside.
• Make the vinaigrette: Combine the dried oregano, black pepper, salt, grated garlic clove, vinegar and extra-virgin olive oil.Slice and set the cucumber aside. Quarter the onion lengthwise, and slice into thin slivers. If you have time, rinse the raw onions in ice water. Set aside.
• Assemble the salad: Spoon the marinated tomatoes onto a serving platter. Dress the croutons with a little of the vinaigrette and toss to coat. Add the sliced cucumbers and onions to the croutons, then drizzle with a little more vinaigrette. Layer the mixture on top of the tomatoes. Scatter the olives around the salad, crumble the feta cheese on top, and add a little more oregano and olive oil to finish.