Feta salad with garlic toast
A generous salad of raw vegetables, feta and toasted seeds, with a creamy mustard and balsamic dressing. Eaten with slices of garlic-rubbed toast.
About this recipe
A hearty all-season salad: raw vegetables, feta, toasted seeds and a creamy mustard and balsamic dressing. You eat it with slices of toast rubbed with garlic, dipping them into the dressing that gathers at the bottom of the bowl.
For a fully plant-based version, swap the eggs for scrambled silken tofu and the feta for vegan feta.
Ingredients
- For the salad
- 4 eggs — **original** or **vegan:** ~300 g silken tofu (one block), scrambled
- 200 g feta — **original** or **vegan:** vegan feta
- 4 medium tomatoes (~400 g)
- 40 g toasted seeds or nuts (sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, hazelnuts)
- 200 g lettuce (one small head) or a bag of mixed leaves
- 100 g rocket — optional
- 200 g roasted peppers or fresh peppers
- 120 g cucumber (≈ ⅓ of a long cucumber)
- ½ tsp oregano
- For the dressing
- Salt (a pinch in the dressing, plus to taste in the salad — start with ¼ tsp)
- 1 tsp mustard
- 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- For the garlic toast
- 4 slices of bread
- 2 garlic cloves
Method
1. Prepare the egg or tofu (10 min)
Egg version (original): place the eggs in a pot of cold water, bring to a boil and cook 9-10 minutes for hard-boiled. Run under cold water, peel and quarter.
Vegan version (scrambled tofu): drain the silken tofu. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a pan over medium heat; once it just starts to smoke, add the tofu and break it up with a spatula. Cook 3-4 minutes, stirring, until it sets slightly and loses some of its water. Season with salt and take off the heat.
2. Toast the seeds (3-4 min)
Put the seeds or nuts in a dry pan over medium heat. Toast for 3-4 minutes, shaking often, until fragrant and lightly golden. Take off the heat — they add texture to the salad.
3. Make the dressing
Put the mustard and balsamic vinegar in a small bowl with a pinch of salt. Pour in the olive oil in a thin stream, whisking briskly, until the dressing comes together and turns creamy.
4. Chop and combine the vegetables
Tear the lettuce into pieces and put it in a large bowl with the rocket. Chop the peppers, tomatoes and cucumber as large as you like and add them over the leaves. Scatter over the toasted seeds, oregano and crumbled feta, then add the egg or tofu.
5. Toast the bread and rub with garlic (5 min)
Toast the bread slices (toaster, dry pan or oven) until golden and crisp. While still hot, rub each slice with a peeled garlic clove cut in half, until it smells strongly of garlic.
6. Salt, dress and let it rest (10+ min)
Season the salad with salt, pour over the dressing and toss gently. Let the salad sit for at least 10 minutes — the leaves soften a little and the dressing gathers at the bottom of the bowl.
7. Serve
Eat the salad with the toast alongside. Don't wait until you've finished the salad: move it aside and dip the bread into the dressing left at the bottom of the bowl as you go.
Notes & Tips
Making the dressing creamier
The secret isn't an extra ingredient, it's the emulsion: put the mustard and vinegar in first, then add the oil slowly, in a thin stream, whisking the whole time. The mustard binds the oil and vinegar, and the dressing turns thick and creamy. For an even creamier result, increase the mustard to a tablespoon.
Why you let the salad rest
The 10 minutes aren't optional: the leaves and vegetables soften slightly in the dressing, the flavours mingle, and exactly the dressing you dip the bread into is left at the bottom of the bowl.