Greek Salad of Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Chickpeas and Black Olives Paired with Arugula and Slices of Fresh Avocado, Topped with Feta and Fresh Basil, Drizzled with Balsamic Reduction and Olive Oil, and Sprinkled with Black Pepper

There are some days I definitely don’t want to turn on my oven. I just want something quick, easy and healthy that I can chop up and have ready to go. This salad is one of those recipes – entirely simple, but absolutely delicious! I had a beautiful organic red tomato and basil all on hand from Taproot Farm, in addition to a ripened avocado in my refrigerator and a cucumber from my own garden at home. I was trying to think of a quick and simple way to use everything, when I came up with the idea of making a Greek styled salad with the addition of some avocado. I really loved the combination of everything – the addition of the avocado and chickpeas made the meal pretty filling as far as salads go, and you can never go wrong with adding some feta cheese and balsamic reduction to help tie all of those wonderful and fresh flavors together. I had this salad as my lunch and as a part of my dinner last night, and admittedly I am having it for lunch again today since I enjoy it so much. I hope you all have fun crafting up and eating this delicious salad – enjoy! 🙂

Serves 4 People as a Meal and Multiple as a Side/Appetizer

Recipe by © Alysha Melnyk 2018

Kitchen Tools:

Large Mixing Bowl

Knife

Ingredients:

1 Medium Cucumber, Diced

1 Large Tomato, Diced

3/4 Cup Black Olives, Sliced

3/4 Cup Chickpeas

1 Container of Arugula Greens

2 Avocado, Sliced (*I was using 1/2 an avocado per meal serving)

Feta Cheese

Balsamic Reduction

Olive Oil

Black Pepper

Fresh Basil

Instructions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine diced cucumber, diced tomato, sliced black olives and chickpeas. Mix to combine.
2. Next, slice avocado.
3. After that, add preferred amount of arugula on one side of each serving plate and scoop your Greek salad mix on the other side.
4. Add avocado slices down the center of the salad and sprinkle feta on top.
5. Drizzle everything with a little balsamic reduction and olive oil.
6. Sprinkle with torn basil leaves and black pepper.
7. Enjoy! 🙂