my new favorite salad

Greek is the flavor of the month in my house. I paired this salad with pita bread and hummus (from Picky Palate) for lunches this past week and after church today I had it as a side dish with Pioneer Woman's lasagna. WOW--the salad is so good (so is the hummus and lasagna) and I have plenty of dressing left for another weeks worth of salad; I just have to get more of the salad fixin's. Now, if I could just find great recipes for spanakopita, rice pilaf, gyros, or kebabs, I'd be able to satisfy all of my Mediterranean cravings.

Greek Salad

3 heads Romaine lettuce, washed and torn into bite sized pieces
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1 cup kalamata olives (I used pitted black olives)
1 cucumber, sliced
12 pepperoncini
2 small red onions, thinly sliced
Greek Vinaigrette, recipe follows

Put all the romaine into a large mixing bowl. Add half of the tomatoes, kalamatas and cucumbers and toss to combine. Put the salad into a large decorative bowl, toss with 1 cup of the vinaigrette and garnish with the remaining tomatoes, cucumbers, pepperoncini, kalamatas, and red onion. Serve with the remaining vinaigrette.

Greek Vinaigrette
1 shallot, diced
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 cups extra-virgin olive oil

Put the shallot into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until well chopped. Add the lemon juice, feta, oregano, salt and pepper and pulse again to combine. With the processor running, add the oil in a steady stream. Pour into a small pitcher and set aside.