Grilled Greek Summer Salad Recipes

GREEK GRILLED CHICKEN SALAD

Steps:

• Season and marinate the chicken tenders. In a large bowl, mix together the yogurt, olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, garlic, salt, and spices. Add the chicken tenders and mix to make sure chicken is well coated with the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes (or refrigerate overnight, if you like)
• Prepare the dressing according to this Greek dressing recipe.
• Prepare the salad. In a large bowl, combine the lettuce, cherry tomatoes, bell pepper, cucumber slices, shallots and kalamata olives. Add 4 tablespoons of the Greek dressing and toss to combine (you can always add more dressing to your liking). Leave some of the dressing (about 3 tablespoons or so) for later. Add feta cheese to your liking.
• Cook the chicken. Heat 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil in a non-stick skillet over medium-high until shimmering but not smoking. Add chicken tenders to the pan (make sure to shake off any excess marinade before adding chicken to the pan.) Cook on one side undisturbed for 5 minutes until browned. Using a pair of tongs, turn chicken over and cook on other side for another 5 minutes or until chicken is done. (See notes for outdoor grilling)
• Assemble the grilled chicken salad. Transfer the salad to serving bowls and top each bowl with the cooked chicken then drizzle a bit more of the salad dressing directly over the chicken. Serve immediately.

GRILLED GIARDINIERA SALAD

Steps:

• Preheat a grill for cooking on high heat. Clean and oil the grates with vegetable oil.
• Combine the vinegar, salt, sugar, oregano, peppercorns, garlic and 1 cup water in a small pot. Bring to a simmer, whisking occasionally, to make sure the sugar and salt are dissolved. Let cool completely.
• Place the rainbow peppers, carrots, serrano peppers and cauliflower steaks directly on the grill (do not grill the celery; keep it raw!). Grill until charred with grill marks, about 5 minutes a side. Set aside to cool on a wire-racked sheet pan. Once cooled, it's time to chop!
• Slice the carrots and celery 1/2-inch-thick on a sharp 45-degree angle bias. Keep the rainbow peppers and serranos whole. Cut the cauliflower florets off the woody stems and trim into individual 1-inch florets.
• Place the chopped veggies into a 1-gallon resealable bag or container. Pour the vinegar mixture directly on the veggies. Stir around and let sit in the fridge at least 3 hours, but ideally overnight.
• Drain the veggies from the brine and place on a paper towel-lined sheet pan. Reserve the brine. Arrange the pickled veggies in groups on a large, long platter, in other words, carrots, then peppers, then celery. Whisk together 3/4 cup of the brine with the olive oil and Dijon in a bowl until combined. Season to taste. Drizzle the vinaigrette over the veggies and top with the ricotta salata, celery leaves and olives. Or serve the veggies directly on freshly grilled Italian sausage or sausages sandwiches and top with ricotta salata, olives and celery tops!

GRILLED CHICKEN GREEK SALAD

Steps:

• Prepare a grill for medium heat; lightly oil the grates.
• Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper and thread onto four 12-inch metal skewers. Grill the chicken, turning often, until just cooked through, 4 to 6 minutes.
• Whisk the olive oil, lemon juice and oregano in a large bowl; season with salt and pepper. Add the lettuce, cucumber, olives and red onion and toss until well coated. Divide among 4 plates and top with some of the feta chunks and a chicken skewer. Warm the pita bread on the grill, cut into wedges and serve with the salad.

GRILLED GREEK SALAD

Steps:

• Cut 3 romaine hearts in half lengthwise. Brush the cut sides with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill cut-side down over medium-high heat until well marked, 1 to 2 minutes, then flip and cook 1 more minute. Transfer to a cutting board and chop. Toss with Greek salad dressing, chopped tomatoes, sliced red onion and cucumber, kalamata olives and crumbled feta.

GRILLED STEAK WITH GREEK CORN SALAD

Steps:

• Preheat a grill to high. Whisk the olive oil, vinegar, herbs, honey, 3/4 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper in a medium bowl. Remove 2 tablespoons of the vinaigrette to a large bowl; set aside. Add the cucumber, tomatoes, red onion, feta and olives to the bowl with the remaining vinaigrette; toss to coat.
• Grill the corn, turning occasionally, until charred in spots, about 8 minutes; remove to a cutting board. Meanwhile, season the steaks with salt and pepper. Working in batches if necessary, grill the steaks until the edges start browning, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook until browned on the other side, about 30 seconds. Transfer to the bowl with the reserved vinaigrette; toss to coat.
• Cut off the corn kernels and add to the salad. Serve the steak with the corn salad.

GRILLED GREEK SUMMER SALAD

Steps:

• For the sweet Greek dressing: Whisk together the vinegar, honey, mustard, oregano and garlic in a bowl. Slowly stream in the olive oil while whisking. Add salt and pepper to taste. Measure out 1/2 cup of the dressing for marinating the chicken. Set aside the remaining dressing for drizzling on the salad.
• For the chicken: Put the chicken in a nonreactive container, pour the reserved 1/2 cup sweet Greek dressing over it and toss to coat. Marinate the chicken, refrigerated, for 2 hours.
• Preheat a grill to medium heat.
• Oil the grill grates with vegetable oil. Grill the chicken until golden on each side and the internal temperature registers 165 degrees F, 7 to 8 minutes per side. Let rest before slicing.
• For the salad: Brush each romaine half with vegetable oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill on high on the cut sides until slightly charred, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Place a seared romaine half on a serving plate. Line up some tomatoes, feta, olives, cucumbers, onions and sliced chicken atop the romaine. Repeat with the remaining ingredients. Drizzle with the sweet Greek dressing. Garnish with cracked black pepper and sea salt and serve.

GRILLED GREEK PANZANELLA SALAD

Steps:

• Prepare a grill or large grill pan for high heat. Whisk the lemon zest and juice, vinegar, honey, oregano and a pinch each of salt and pepper in a large bowl. Whisk in 1/2 cup of the oil in a slow, steady stream until emulsified.
• Peel the cucumbers , leaving alternating strips of green peel. Trim the ends, halve the cucumbers lengthwise and slice them crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Add them to the bowl with the dressing. Add the chickpeas.
• Brush the pitas on both sides with 2 tablespoons of the oil, and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Thread 6 or 7 tomatoes on each skewer. (If using wooden skewers, leave just 1/2 inch sticking out on each end so you do not have to soak them.) Brush the remaining 2 tablespoons oil on the tomatoes and the onions, and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper.
• Place the pitas, skewered tomatoes and onions on the grill. Grill the pitas, flipping and rotating frequently, until charred in spots on both sides and crispy, 4 to 5 minutes. Grill the onions, turning as needed, until charred and tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Grill the tomatoes, turning occasionally, until lightly charred in spots and starting to burst, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer the pitas and vegetables to a large cutting board when done cooking.
• When cool enough to handle, cut the pitas into 1-inch pieces and roughly chop the onions into bite-size pieces. Add them to the bowl with the cucumbers, chickpeas and dressing. Add the tomatoes, feta, kalamata olives and dill. Gently toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper if needed. (Be careful with seasoning at this point, because the feta and olives are very salty.) Let the salad sit at room temperature for at least 15 minutes before serving, drizzled with olive oil.