Chopped Greek salad enhanced with Rocket

Chopped Greek salad enhanced with Rocket, Rusk to absorb the wonderful juices and grated feta adding flavour throughout (reducing the need for excess salt or oil).

Type: Salad

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Yield: 1-2 servings

Ingredients

1 cup Rusk (barley rusk from Crete (aka Ntakos) is ideal) or stale bread (3-4 slices cut into bite size chunks) -grilled to make it v.crispy)

2-3 tomatoes

1/2 cucumber

1/2 red onion

2 tbsp. capers or pitted sliced Kalamata Olives

1 cup rocket (rucola)

1/2 cup feta

1-2 tbsp. oregano (optionally if using rocket)

1-2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp Balsamic Vineger (optional if not using rocket)

Instructions

Chop tomatoes (into about 1cm cubes), salt them (this helps them release their tasty juices).

Place Rusk at the bottom of a bowl. Put juices from tomatoes on risk such that rusk absorbs as much of them as possible.

Put tomatoes on top of rusk.

Chop cucumber, onion, rocket place on top of tomatoes. Add feta, capers, oregano, oil & vinegar. Mix and enjoy.

Emulsify instead of Mix

I've been experimenting with salad dressings recently.

Typical ingredients for dressing you'll find in most dressing recipes are olive oil, vinegar and maybe Dijon mustard. Most recipes I've found will be along the lines of 'mix the dressing ingredients together'.

I got bored of this, and to be honest I just find the result an oily dressing with a hint of acidity (depending on amount of vinegar), and an additional kick (mustard and anything else you put inside).

Occasionally I've found recipes that use a mayonnaise base. I'm not really a fan of putting mayo into a salad, and really wanted to believe that many of the creamy textured dressings you found in restaurants etc. aren't cream or mayo based.

Then it hit me (maybe more obvious to some than me, but I was happy with myself). Making mayonnaise is just apply a process of making an emulsion to eggs, oil and whatever else you add. An emulsion is the product when two ingredients that normally don't mix are bound together using an emulsifier. Making one can be done by using the same process whatever the ingredients. Could I apply it to oil, vinegar and mustard? Turns out I can because mustard is a good emulsifier.

Basically:

1. Teaspoon of Dijon Mustard in a small bowl.
2. Add oil drop by drop at first then progressively a little more at a time, whisking vigorously and continuously. You don't want to be adding more that about 5% of the volume of mix you have at a time. Add it, mix it till mix is uniform again, the add more.
3. You can probably get about four tablespoons of olive oil into a teaspoon of mustard.
4. Then add vinegar to taste. Maybe about a tablespoon. Carefully: You don't wan to break the emulsion.
5. You can then add other flavourings. I particularly like anchovies & garlic for a Caesar like dressing or sweat chilli sauce for a pleasant spicy surprise.