Feta Oregano Salad Recipe
We were greeted at my friend Bonni's sweet, little alpine cabin with this deliciousness. It's comprised of good feta and olives served with a lot of fresh oregano, slivered lemon rind, black pepper, and a thick finishing thread of olive oil. Bonni served it with an assortment of crackers and pita, black yogurt-dolloped lentils, and chilled rosé.
What you can't see in the photos here is the river running just a few feet out of frame. You can't smell the pine and redwood or their sun-warmed tree bark. What you can see is a good lunch. We were greeted at my friend Bonni's sweet, little alpine cabin with this deliciousness. I thought I'd share her feta-olive preparation - it was beautiful, and it is something you can throw together and serve as part of a series of mezze for people to pull from. It's comprised of good feta and olives served with a lot of fresh oregano, slivered lemon rind, black pepper, and a thick finishing thread of olive oil. Bonni served it with an assortment of crackers and pita, black yogurt-dolloped lentils, and chilled rosé. You can enjoy any leftovers on salad greens or grains, or a simple pasta bowl. You can also cover the herbs, feta, and olives in with olive oil in a little oven-proof dish, and heat it through for a nice little appetizer.
A couple of suggestions related to the salad - if you can find good sheep's milk feta, that's what you want. Whatever feta you buy, give it a taste, and adjust the seasoning of the plate overall depending on the saltiness. Some feta is better after a quick rinse (pat dry) to rid it of brine. Same goes for the olives, I normally give olives in this sort of dish a quick rinse, then dry, before proceeding with the recipe. And, avoid canned olives. In otherwords, you want each component to be delicious (and not out of balance) on it's own. As far as herbs - Bonni used fresh oregano here, but if your summer herb garden is in full swing feel free to mix things up with basil, mint, lemon verbena, and/or thyme.
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Feta Oregano Salad
If your market has a cheese monger, ask about your feta options there.
8 ounces feta cheese, rinsed and pat dry
8 ounces pitted Kalamata olives, rinsed and pat dry
1/3 cup fresh oregano leaves
2 lemons
scant 1/4 cup / 50 ml extra virgin olive oil
lots of freshly ground black pepperto serve: toasted pita, crackers, lentils, pasta, just about anything!
With a sharp knife, cut the feta into smal cubes. Wipe the knife clean between cuts for easier slicing. Arrange in a bowl or on a platter with the olives and oregano leaves. Take the lemons, zest one of them, then peel the other, and thinly slice the peel into pretty wisps - be sure to trim any pith from the peel. Sprinkle the lemon across the platter before drizzling with the olive oil and finishing with lots of freshly ground pepper, and a squeeze of lemon juice.
Serves 4 as a side.
Prep time: 10 minutes
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Comments
Beautiful salad and photos! I think the Feta and olives, are my favorite part of this salad. Love them.
What a great idea! I think I’ll try it for lunch one of these days!
Your work is very inspiring. I love the way you bring people into your trip with not just a recipe but an atmosphere and your feelings with. Thanks a lot for sharing this!
Just made this and served it with pasta. Delicious, fresh, and an amazing combination of flavors. You continue to inspire me.
I’ve never let a comment here but I must do now!
I just love the photographer behind your photos!!!!
a kiss from Italy
thanks! I love taking them.
Gorgeous pictures to match a mouth-watering salad. Made me miss the North Pacific woods!
It has such meditarrean flavours! Greek in fact! It’s like one of us created it 🙂 Can’t wait to try it…
Yum! Feta, olives, oregano, lemon oh my! All my favorites. Looking forward to making this salad this Summer.
Yes to anything with feta, specifically sheep’s milk feta! This looks lovely, and I wanted to add my praise to the Good Spinach recipe from a few weeks ago, but it seems comments are turned off there. So simple but so brilliant, and yes, as another commenter pointed out, it may serve 6 as a side dish, but we had just that for supper and the 2 of us ate it all! Maybe we’re just gluttons for good spinach!
Thanks for the lovely recipe.
I made it as an appetizer for a bbq and everyone loved it. So simple yet so good!
The (very few) leftovers went into a pasta dish – perfect.
I love how simple this is! Such a delicious medley of flavors. The photographs are beautiful! Can’t wait to try this out 🙂 -Naomi
I can’t get over how cool that tree trunk looks under the food. Perfect nature!
I made this yesterday for some friends who were coming over to see our photos from a recent vacation to Greece. Not as self-centered as it sounds- they are going to Greece in the fall! Used Bulgarian feta (so creamy!) and my myer lemons. Tasted even better as it sat and the flavors mingled more.
Thanks for a great, simple idea!
Being Greek, I greatly appreciate feta and olives. This salad sounds like a piece of food heaven to me.
For reasons I can not understand, I found your blog for the first time today. I’ll go ahead and blame it on the graduate school cave I have been living in for several years.
I love what you are doing – lovely things with some of earth’s finest (and simplest) ingredients. Can’t wait to cook my way through your book. I’m so glad I found you.
HS: Welcome Katie!
ooo I love a good feta! What beautiful photos too!
Had some fresh organic oregano that I wasn’t sure what to do with. As luck would have it I also had kalamatas and Sheeps feta, served with puy lentils, it was fantastic.
This looks amazing! 🙂 I’m curious about those delicious looking lentils as well! It looks like they’re topped with yogurt and green onions. Can you tell us more about how they were prepared or spiced?
this is almost too beautiful to eat! (never thought i would say that about a salad!) looks delicious.. definitely will be giving this a go in my kitchen.
Ohh, I’m jealous. I’ve had Bonni’s feta salad and been to the cabin on the river. I hope you got to cook something on the big outdoor grill/oven!
HS: the griddle was the best thing I’ve cooked on in years – so fun! Happy summer Diane, hope to see you soon!
I have friends visiting this weekend and this looks like the perfect dish to snack on. Terrific!
I usually soak my olives in olive oil and a slice of lemom. This combination meal sounds devine. Happy Nesting.
Sometimes your recipes just make me want to cry…in a good way. I think it’s the photos…the colors, the nostalgia…and I can taste that feta.
Well, now I definitely want a salad, a glass of rosé, and a vacation. 🙂 This sounds so wonderful and fresh and pungent!
I love the idea of this Oregano salad, and Iam very anxious to make it soon! Your description & photos of the setting make me feel like I was there. . .
I recently used sheep feta crumbled with bite-sized pieces of honeydew melon, fresh chopped mint, evoo, fresh Meyer lemon juice and sea salt. It’s refreshing and tastey, and the flavor combinations always surprise my guests!
Looks like a perfect summer meal. We have feta and olives in the fridge and oregano in the garden. Thanks for the inspiration.
Delicious Heidi, what a coincidence as I just shared a wonderful crumbled feta salad with cumin, oregano and red pepper flakes, a Southern Turkish specialty. You are so right on looking out good quality ingredients, it makes such a difference. Here is my version, if you’d like to have a look http://ozlemsturkishtable.com/2010/11/crumbled-feta-salad-with-spices-and-olive-oil-cokelek-salata/
Looks like a perfect summer meal. We have feta and olives in the fridge and oregano in the garden. Thanks for the inspiration.
I think the olives are my favorite part of this salad. Love them.
Wow. this looks divine. I feel like I’m on a wonderful holiday in a beautiful forest and now a little hungry too 🙂
Beautiful! I’ve often made similar on a bed of homemade labneh instead of the feta. Next time I’ll add a bit of slivered preserved lemon rind as well.
Beautiful spread. Delicious and uncomplicated, that’s how summer meals should be!
Bulgarian feta is the way to go. I love that wallpaper, btw!
HS: I heartily concur! Bulgarian feta is amazing.
Beautiful salad and photos! Gotta love the photo of the outhouse night light!
Beautiful spread. Delicious and uncomplicated, that’s how summer meals should be!
IT sounds absolutely delicious and perfect for a hot summer day! Such a good idea to have it with some lentils and pita bread. Even though I like the idea of pasta with it as well. Maybe with what’s left over the next day. If there is any.. Haha, most likely not!
Love the pictures as well!! 🙂
Sounds absolutely delicious and perfect for a light dinner or lunch. What’s more, it’s a great vegetarian dish.
This has my family’s name written all over it! My sons and I never met an olive or a cheese we didn’t like!
I have a jar of preserved lemons…am thinking I may sliver one of them up and toss into the olive oil. Have never used them…
HS: I was thinking the same thing! Taste a little bit of the preserved lemon, and if it is too salty, give a quick rinse, before chopping…
Beautiful salad for a beautiful setting. I love getting away to the mountains!
That wallpaper!!!! Love, love, love it. And the salad is making my mouth water. I’ll have to make it this weekend.
Why haven’t I dolloped yogurt with lentils? I’m a true lentil lover! Hope you enjoyed your vacation 🙂
Such a bright and fresh sounding salad.
The Recipe seems very tasty and nice salivating but getting the ingredients for
the same in our country is hard.
Oh i do love your introductory paragraph, I feel like I could be there with you, when I make this I’ll re read it as I eat and be transported to that beautiful place. Thanks for lovely words and writing
So many gorgeous photos, thanks for sharing, definitely put a smile on my face 🙂
And that salad! Wow, it looks delicious! x
what luck! i just stumbled upon some sheep’s milk feta for the first time in donkey’s years, today, and have a squat block floating about in the fridge!
i imagine this would be lovely with orange, as well (and instead) of the lemon. indeed, i think i might slice up the season’s first sweet-sharp garnet tomatoes into slabs, tile them on a platter, and set a plate of this alongside.
dinner. done. (joy!)
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