Pepperoncini + Artichoke Greek Salad with EVOOil + Vinegar - Recipes

It’s about the third week of my artichokes and pepperoncini kick, and I’m still playing around with combos. Pepperoncherries anyone? My brother and I, coming from culinarily-educated family we did, used to experiment with the craziest combinations of food items. Last night, as I was washing some nice black cherries, I was munching on a big pepperoncini pepper. Without realizing what I was doing, I also bit down on a cherry. The result was unexpected but not unpleasanty: hot and sweet and sour, but in a different way than, say, a Chinese dish.

In fact, these kinds of happy accidents are the way cooks have come up with new dishes for time immemorial. This is especially true for fusion cuisine. Substitute an item or three in a recipe, and you have a new dish. So if it’s that easy, why do people have such a hard time coming up with ideas for a meal? I think it’s a pyschological thing. Stress at work or bills or relationships. Me, though, I consider it a challenge to come up with something new. Remember. Keep it simple: change just a few items.

So here’s something new, built upon something old and tried: a variation of Greek salad. While I have had Greek friends, I’m not Greek. I’ve been to many great Greek restaurants and even lived a few blocks from the fabulous Greek area of Toronto, Canada (the Bloor-Danforth-Broadview region). I’ve seen different versions of what passes for Greek salad. But the recipe below is based on a very simple version, plus artichokes and pepperoncini. It’s very simple, and I’ll leave the measurements to you.

Artichoke + Pepperoncini Greek Salad

• Medium-diced English cucumber
• Medium-diced ripe tomatoes
• Slivers of onion, preferably red
• Minced pepperoncini
• Chunks of marinated artichokes
• Pieces of black olive [optional]
• Salad mix, including crispy iceberg lettuce and a slivers of red cabbage [for extra texture, but all optional]
• Toss everything together in a large salad bowl and drizzle Simple EVOO Salad Dressing (see below)

Simple EVOO Salad Dressing

• 1 part white vinegar
• 3 parts EVOO (extra virgin olive oil). I like Carapelli olive oil, from Firenze.
• Salt
• Italian seasoning (any mix of dry spices including parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, basil)
• Place together in a jar and cover with an airtight lid. Shake vigorously until everything mixes together