Chunky Crunchy Cheesy Salata

by Meliz Berg
Star 4.4
    15m prep time
    20m total time
    Easy level
    16 ingredients

This salad has pure holiday vibes written all over it. If you can source Ezine peyniri, a white cheese from Ezine, in North-Western Turkey, then it really is the best cheese to use in this salad. It’s creamy and less crumbly than most brined white cheeses, and has an intense, tangy flavour, and yet, is not overpowering at all. Teamed with rich extra virgin olive oil, fresh and dried herbs, the citrus-y heat of pul biber (or crushed chilli), and the mild acidity of the white wine vinegar lacing the crunchy salad vegetables, this is one salad that brings summery joy in every mouthful.

Method

Based on 4 servings, adjust as needed.

Step 1

Add a drizzle of the extra virgin olive oil to a small frying pan and place on the hob over a low-medium heat. Once hot, fry the pine nuts for a couple of minutes, stirring them frequently until evenly golden brown and glistening, then take the pan off the heat. Set to one side.

Step 2

In a small bowl, mix together the cubes of feta with half the extra virgin olive oil, half of the dried mint, the pul biber (or chilli flakes), black pepper and the lemon zest. Set to one side.

Step 3

Add the tomatoes, baby cucumbers, lettuce, fresh mint and parsley to a large bowl and toss together well with 1 tbsp of the lemon juice (if serving 4) and all of the white wine vinegar. It’s important to do this first so that the vinegar and lemon juice do not water down the dressing after you add the oil.

Step 4

Drizzle the remaining extra virgin olive oil over the salad, toss well, then add the red onion, black olives and pine nuts, the remaining dried mint and toss again. Add the marinated cubes of feta to the salad, gently toss and serve immediately.
  • Ingredients
  • Based on 4 servings
  • 50g Pine Nuts 1 x Sainsbury's Pine Nuts 100g
  • 1 Red Onion, finely sliced into rings 1 x Sainsbury's Red Onions Loose
  • 1 tsp Chilli Flakes, or Pul Biber or Aleppo pepper/Turkish red pepper flakes 1 x Sainsbury's Crushed Chillies 32g
  • 2 tbsp White Wine Vinegar 1 x Sainsbury's Wine Vinegar, White Wine 500ml
  • 2 tsp Dried Mint 1 x Sainsbury's Mint 12g
  • 50g Pitted Dry Black Olives 1 x Sainsbury's Pitted Moroccan Dry Black Olives 110g
  • 1 Red Romano Or Small Red Bell Pepper, halved, deseeded and thinly sliced into rings 1 x Sainsbury's Red Sweet Pointed Pepper Each, Taste the Difference
  • 1 Cos, or Baby Gem Lettuce roughly chopped 1 x Sainsbury's Little Gem Lettuce x2
  • 2 Baby Cucumbers, Middle Eastern, Persian or Crooks Cucumbers or 1⁄4 Cucumber, (deseeded) and roughly chopped 1 x Sainsbury's Baby Cucumbers 200g
  • 25g Fresh Flat Leaf Parsley Leaves, finely chopped 1 x Sainsbury's Fresh Packed Flat Leaf Parsley 30g
  • 5 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil 1 x Sainsbury's Olive Oil, Extra Virgin 1L
  • 1 Lemon, finely zested and juiced 1 x Sainsbury's Lemons
  • 10g Fresh Mint Leaves, roughly chopped 1 x Sainsbury's Fresh Packed Mint 30g
  • 3 Large Tomatoes, roughly chopped 1 x Sainsbury's Jubilee Large Vine Tomatoes, Taste the Difference 450g
  • 250g Feta Cheese, or Ezine peynir/beyaz peynir (Turkish white cheese), cut into 2cm cubes 2 x Sainsbury's Greek Feta Cheese 200g
  • Maldon Salt, to taste 1 x Maldon Sea Salt Flakes 250g
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