Light, bright, balanced flavors with in-season ingredients, Greek food is one of our favorites—especially come summertime. Luckily, local chef, cookbook author, and owner of Kouzounas Kitchen and Travel Mazi Mou, Krystina Kalapothakos, was kind enough to share one of her go-to, warm-weather recipes with us.

 

3 large English cucumbers, sliced

4 cups strawberries, quartered

1/2 cup red onion, thinly sliced

1/2 cup feta cheese, cubed

Handful of fresh mint leaves

Handful of pecans or walnuts, optional

 

Lemon Dressing

1 lemon, juice reserved

1 lime, juice reserved

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tbsp. honey

2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar

Salt & pepper, to taste

 

 

Rinse the produce thoroughly then prepare the fruits and vegetables. In a large bowl, combine all the salad ingredients (except the cheese and mint) and lightly toss.

To prepare the salad dressing, add the ingredients to a bowl and whisk to combine.

Pour the salad dressing over the salad, and then top with feta cheese and fresh mint leaves.

Recipe notes: You can most certainly add any greens to this salad, especially spinach or arugula. You can add any nuts of your choice. I used Persian cucumbers, but I prefer using English cucumbers; use what you like. Any dressing works well, but I find the lemon, balsamic, and oil is perfect.

Be mindful of the mint you use, as some varieties (like peppermint) are extremely strong and should be used sparingly. I used spearmint in this recipe.

By Krystina Kalapothakos