Sunday, June 12, 2011

Serbian Salad


We are very fortunate to have a wonderful variety of ethnic restaurants in the Milwaukee area. There are high-end French, Italian and Continental cuisine restaurants along with many small and delightful ethnic restaurants that include Indian, Mexican, Cuban, Brazilian, German, Mediterranean, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Thai and Cajun. One of our favorites is a Serbian restaurant called Three Brothers. The grape leaf sarma and spinach burek are wonderful along with many other authentic Serbian dishes. One of our favorite things to order while we wait for our entrees is the Serbian salad.


I was able to recreate this wonderful salad by doing to online research. When fresh, garden or farmers' market tomatoes, cucumbers and in peppers are in season tastes wonderful! But don't let the season stop you - vine on tomatoes from the grocery store are okay.  I've made this salad three or four times in the past couple of weeks and my husband and I both love it. 


Serbian Salad
Adapted from Here and Here
Printable Recipe

Note - Dressing should be made the day before, if possible. If you can't make it the day before, substitute minced garlic rather than quartered garlic cloves.

Dressing

2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup good red wine vinegar (I used a good Chianti red wine vinegar)
4 garlic cloves quartered
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon fresh basil, chopped (or substitute 1/2 teaspoon dried)
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme,
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram
(You can use all fresh herbs in the summer if you have them growing in your garden - just increase the amounts by half for fresh herbs).

Salad

6 tomatoes, cut into large dice
1 red pepper, cut into large dice
3 green onions, chopped
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and cut into large dice
2-3 radishes, thinly sliced (optional)
1-2 heads or hearts of Romaine Lettuce, washed, chopped and chilled

Crumbled good quality feta cheese

Make dressing and refrigerate overnight. Before tossing salad, discard garlic. Combine tomatoes, peppers, onions and cucumber with enough dressing to taste.

In a large platter or bowl, place the chilled romaine lettuce and top with the tomato mixture.

Top with feta cheese and addition chopped green onion for garnish.
Posted by SavoringTime in the Kitchen at 8:53:00 PM
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43 comments:

  1. Pat @ Mille Fiori FavoritiJune 12, 2011 at 9:36 PM

    I love eating in authentic ethnic restaurants and trying new dishes. This looksn like a wonderful salad for a hot summer day. Your flowers mosaics are beautiful, Susan!

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  2. RajeshJune 12, 2011 at 10:04 PM

    Beautiful mosaic of very lovely and colorful flowers.

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  3. chow and chatterJune 12, 2011 at 10:04 PM

    lovely salad used to visit Serbian friends in Cleveland great food :-)

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  4. Barbara F.June 12, 2011 at 10:22 PM

    Susan, this salad looks great. And with a popover like the one in your header, my oh my. I have a friend from that part of the world and she makes really different and delicious dishes. xo,

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  5. CarolJune 12, 2011 at 11:04 PM

    Great looking salad! Is the Burek a spinach turnover? We have a place, they call them borekas, and they would be awesome along with the salad.

    The mosaics are beautiful, such pretty flowers!

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  6. Yvonne @ StoneGableJune 12, 2011 at 11:05 PM

    This will be a great summer salad! I LOVE the dressing! Look for this On The Menu at StoneGable next week! I love this!
    Yvonne

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  7. SarahJune 12, 2011 at 11:22 PM

    I just love the flavours in the dressing! Any salad with this dressing is gonna be amazing!

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  8. Chiara June 12, 2011 at 11:37 PM

    The Serbian cuisine is well known here in Trieste, there is a large Serb community and many restaurants, I like it very much! I will try this wonderful recipe Susan, I wish you a good week, hugs...

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  9. Cooking ElenaJune 13, 2011 at 2:29 AM

    I have a dear friend of Serbia that slowly is making me discover the beauty of the cuisine of the Balkans. I really like it as I like this salad, very fresh and colorful.

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  10. Three-CookiesJune 13, 2011 at 3:34 AM

    Serbian food is nice. The salad sounds refreshing, light and nutritious.

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  11. JoanneJune 13, 2011 at 6:05 AM

    I'm pretty sure I've never had Serbian food before so I'll have to check out the menu for that restaurant! This salad looks so fresh flavored...the perfect summer meal!

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  12. Deana SidneyJune 13, 2011 at 6:07 AM

    Yum, the salad is simple and delicious... something the screams summer.

    Love your iris photos... black iris made the fashion pages of the NYT this week.. they are fetching!

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  13. LynnJune 13, 2011 at 6:47 AM

    Sounds like a great salad Susan! Love your pretty mosaics, the soft white single peony is just beautiful-enjoy:@)

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  14. From the KitchenJune 13, 2011 at 6:51 AM

    I'm certain this will become a favorite salad around here. I am looking forward to the tomatoes and cucumbers in our farmer's market. Until then, we use the tomatoes on the vine and, recently, Costco has had tasty little cucumbers. The dressing sounds delicious.

    Best,
    Bonnie

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  15. poppilinnstudiosJune 13, 2011 at 6:51 AM

    Looks delicious! With 2 hungry teens, I'm always looking for new ideas. Luckily, they enjoy all types of food. Glad I found your blog.
    -Lynn

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  16. La Table De NanaJune 13, 2011 at 7:30 AM

    It must taste as fresh as it looks.. I adore the blooms..so pretty..I am so glad you keep sharing them.

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  17. BonnieJune 13, 2011 at 8:05 AM

    Sounds like a wonderful salad to have when I am dining alone. Yummy!

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  18. The Charm of HomeJune 13, 2011 at 9:11 AM

    Your flowers are beautiful. That salad looks delicious too. Thanks for stopping by.
    Sherry

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  19. FaithJune 13, 2011 at 9:25 AM

    The flowers are very beautiful Susan and the salad looks wonderful. I've never had it before but it looks really delicious. Thanks for sharing with us :)

    Have a great week ahead.

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  20. CathyJune 13, 2011 at 9:27 AM

    What a wonderful, healthy salad! I especially like your dressing and all the fresh summer herbs you've used. I'm hoping to see arugula and frizee in the market soon.

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  21. VeeJune 13, 2011 at 9:27 AM

    The salad looks delicious, is beautiful, and seems easy to make. Hmmm...

    We must be in the same zone as your garden and mine are very similar in progress.

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  22. RitaJune 13, 2011 at 9:38 AM

    Great looking salad Susan! Like you I love to come home and try to re-create something we enjoyed at the restaurant. Looks like you succeeded.
    Rita

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  23. BarbaraJune 13, 2011 at 11:33 AM

    Very like a salad I eat nearly every day, Susan, although I add endive to mine. What I DO like is the dressing. All those herbs...bet it tastes wonderful.

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  24. Thoughtfully Blended HeartsJune 13, 2011 at 1:26 PM

    Beautiful salad and I love your beautiful peonies and iris...you just cant beat these flowers!!! Have a beautiful day!!!

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  25. ~Lavender Dreamer~June 13, 2011 at 2:02 PM

    Wonderful mosaics..the irises are stunning! And I would love to try this recipe! We like to try something different now and then to get out of the rut! ♥ I'm glad to find your blog! ♥

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  26. ValJune 13, 2011 at 6:57 PM

    Now that looks scrumptious!!

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  27. MarisJune 13, 2011 at 7:17 PM

    I don't think I've ever eaten Serbian food before but this sounds great, especially the dressing!

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  28. Debbie@Mountain BreathsJune 13, 2011 at 8:35 PM

    As soon as my garden starts producing tomatoes, peppers and cukes, I know what I will be making. We enjoy Serbian food also.

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  29. KathleenJune 13, 2011 at 9:31 PM

    Beautiful salad and mosaic, Susan! I hope the feta I use is good quality, :). We eat a lot of it!

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  30. PondsideJune 13, 2011 at 10:19 PM

    I can just about imagine the flavour of that salad - complex, fresh and all that crispness.

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  31. MaryJune 14, 2011 at 6:54 AM

    Your salad looks & sounds so refreshing! Love your beautiful garden mosaics! I'm wishing my peonies were still blooming :-)

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  32. Angie's RecipesJune 14, 2011 at 1:45 PM

    Definitely my type of salad! SO beautifully arranged! And I love your mixed herbs vinaigrette!

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  33. GosiaJune 14, 2011 at 2:31 PM

    Variations of this type of salad is many in Balkans cuisines. I love it.
    Funny is a story with feta cheese. We all think of comes from Greece but the dispute about the origin of this cheese goes on between Greece, Bulgaria and Balkan countries.
    Once, I was admonished by the Croat when I told - the Greek feta cheese. He told me that feta comes form Balkan. Where is thru? I don't know but mediterranean cuisine is wonderful.

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  34. We Are Not MarthaJune 14, 2011 at 2:51 PM

    This looks so fresh and delicious! And I love that the garlic has to marinate in the dressing overnight :)

    Sues

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  35. Rosita VargasJune 14, 2011 at 4:24 PM

    DELICIOUS ENSALADA DEAR,LOOKS GORGEOUS SUPERB PRESENTATION,REFRESHING

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  36. Red Couch RecipesJune 14, 2011 at 5:04 PM

    This looks like such a great salad that my whole family would love -- thanks for the recipe -- love it! Joni

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  37. kitchen flavoursJune 15, 2011 at 3:35 AM

    That's a lovely plate of salad. The ingredients sounds really good! Bookmarking this! Thanks for sharing!

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  38. SavoringTime in the KitchenJune 16, 2011 at 10:16 AM

    Thank you, all, for your very kind words! We had this salad for dinner again last night ;)

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  39. MarysolJune 16, 2011 at 12:53 PM

    Good, healthy and refreshing! Pretty much what I look for in a salad, and this one fits the bill!

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  40. Lucy LuJune 20, 2011 at 3:58 PM

    looks so yummy! :) definitely gonna try that recipe! i eat similar meal every week..

    Serbia is country near my country :) So we from the Balkan really like that meal :D

    have a nice day,
    Lucy,

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  41. CarolJune 21, 2011 at 5:55 AM

    That salad looks great! Your flowers pictures are lovely, especially the peonies.

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  42. Heather at Farm to ForkJune 22, 2011 at 11:20 PM

    This salad looks so fresh and yummy. The dressing sounds just great with all those herbs in it. I can't wait to try this. Thanks for the idea.

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  43. UnknownDecember 31, 2020 at 1:21 PM

    I loved the Three Brothers salad (especially with a glass of house wine)! I am going to try this tonight. TA

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