Mustard Greens Greek Salad
This mustard greens Greek salad is the perfect fueling salad, packed with satisfying fats, carbs and protein! Toss mustard greens with a lemony dressing, pita chips and roasted chickpeas for crunch, juicy ripe tomatoes, crisp cucumbers and radish and plenty of feta cheese!
This post was sponsored by WP Rawl Farm as part of a three-part series highlighting Nature’s Greens Mustard Greens. Check out Barbecue Chicken Pizza with Mustard Green Pesto and Mustard Green and Sausage Orecchiette for the first two collaborations in this series. Thanks for supporting the brands that make this blog possible!
I’ve always had a love-hate relationship with the phrase “food is fuel.” On one hand, it’s objectively true. As humans, we can’t exactly photosynthesize, so that makes food our fuel.
But it also doesn’t capture everything that food is. It is so much more than fuel. As I shared in a recent post, food is science, culture, comfort, family, nourishment, pleasure, art, and patience all wrapped up in to a (hopefully) tasty package. We need different aspects of what food supplied in different situations. There may be stressful times when we need the comforting aspect of food. There may be holidays or vacations where we’re needing the cultural connection from food. And there may be other times when our body just needs a good, solid source of fuel.
Food as fuel is the theme of this last collaboration in my series with WP Rawl, so I’d like to share a little more about what I think of when I am looking for a meal to fuel me. Because every food will provide fuel, but not every meal feels fueling, if that makes sense?
When I am looking for something to fuel me, I’m looking for a meal that leaves my body feeling energized until my next meal or snack. I’m also looking for something with nutrient-dense ingredients, like a variety of colorful veggies, whole grains, beans and fats like olive oil or nuts. I also want something that has all the macronutrients – fat, protein and especially carbohydrate, our body’s favorite source of fuel. Basically, I want something that’s packed with nutrition and feels good in my body, but is also tasty and satisfying too!
This mustard greens Greek salad is a perfect example. Usually when I see people make salads, they toss greens and afterthought raw veggies together with some protein and dressing, and call it a day. That does not sound very fueling to me. Salads can - and should! - be satisfying. They need tasty toppings, actual FAT in the dressing, carbohydrate, protein, and greens that actually have flavor.
I made this mustard greens Greek salad a couple of times in two busy weeks between vacations. It felt SO good to eat, especially at lunch when I needed something satiating, but wanted to stay energized for an afternoon of clients. Usually I’m not a huge fan of Greek salads – the lettuce is kinda bland and soggy from dressing and there’s too much red onion that makes by breath ick for the rest of the day. But this is one of my favorite salads I’ve shared on the blog. The bitter mustard greens aren’t overpowering, but still add tons of flavor. Plus, in Greece, it’s much more typical to eat bitter greens like arugula, dandelion, mustards and purslane. Soaking the red onion (and radish) in ice water makes them extra crunchy, and takes away some of the bite. The salad gets tons of texture, as well as filling protein and carbohydrate from pita chip croutons and roasted chickpeas. For dressing, I used a simple mix of olive oil and lemon juice seasoned with a hefty dose of oregano, which adds brightness, but still lets the other flavors shine through.
If you like this mustard greens Greek salad recipe, follow my Mediterranean recipes Pinterest board for more inspiration.
Mustard Greens Greek Salad
Serves: 4
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
Chickpeas:
1 can chickpeas, drained, rinsed and dried
1 teaspoon olive oil
Salad:
4 cups lightly packed Nature’s Greens mustard greens, thick stems removed
3 small juicy red tomatoes, quartered
2 Persian cucumbers, sliced
1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and chopped
¼ red onion, peeled and thinly sliced, soaked in ice water for 10 minutes
3 radishes, trimmed and thinly sliced, soaked in ice water for 10 minutes
1/3 cup Kalamata olives
½ cup crumbled feta cheese
Pita chips
Dressing:
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Juice of ½ a juicy lemon
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Toss chickpeas and olive oil together and season with salt. Spread evenly on a large baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until crispy and golden. Remove from oven and set aside until ready to use.
Whisk together dressing ingredients in a small bowl. Season with salt and black pepper.
In a large bowl using your hands, toss together greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, bell pepper, red onion, and radishes with about half the dressing until well combined. Add olives, feta, pita chips and chickpeas and toss again. Serve with extra dressing on the side.
More mustard greens recipes:
Orecchiette with Mustard Greens and Sausage
Lentil Pasta with Greens, Roasted Fingerlings and Garlic Chips
BBQ Chicken Pizza with Mustard Green Pesto
