This is another one of those super easy, fast recipes - really I can't call it a recipe - which makes a nice healthy lunch. This salad mixes farm market produce and eggs with a few store - bought ingredient, the giardiniera (a spicy pickled vegetable medley, usually can be found in the Greek section of the supermarket), hot olive blend from the olive bar at Sunflower Market, and the feta, which happens to be Ohio Goat's milk feta from Cricketwick Farms, a firm, salty feta which makes a base for a salad. While this is sort of a modified Greek salad, you can, of course, change or substitute any of the ingredients as the market whims take over. I just wanted to illustrate how these simple composed plates don't need loads of dressing or other heavy ingredients. That's why I love ingredients such as the spicy olive blend and the giardiniera - they add lots of flavor without adding loads of additional fat or what have you.
Market Salad - serves 1 as a light lunch.
1 ounce feta, cut into slices
2 hard cooked eggs, preferably local, from happy chickens
Mixed sliced veggies from the farm market - this salad contained cucumbers and shaved sweet onions
A few pieces of giardiniera; I'm particularly fond of the Krinos brand, which includes these great little gherkins
Olives
freshly cracked pepper
Sea salt
Arrange everything so it's pretty, serve with toast or pita. If so desired, you can round it out as I did - with a nice big piece of sourdough bread, toasted and drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and spread with hummus.
Local sources for this salad - Cricketwick Goat's milk feta can be found at Weiland's. Eggs and cucumbers came from Elizabeth Telling Farm.
