The Dinner: Copycat Souvla Salad

Happy August! I hope you all enjoyed the DIY Healthy Bakery project. I heard from many of you that the life-changing cookies were, in fact, life-changing, and I was excited to hear some of you planned to experiment with different scone flavors. This week, we will be back to regular programming - one dinner suggestion, one baked bite, and one dessert - but I may do more recipe bundles in the future. Please let me know -by clicking the button below- your feedback on receiving the necessary ingredients in advance and having various recipes made from the same ingredients!

If you have spent time in San Francisco over the past few years, you have probably tried the fast casual Greek restaurant Souvla. I loved ordering a Souvla Chicken salad for dinner after commuting home late from Palo Alto, and I often met friends for a quick bite at one of their locations. When the pandemic hit, the restaurant shut down operations for a few months- and I began searching for a way to replicate their simple, delicious greek salads. I finally found one that was easy to make and ALMOST as good as the real thing, and I am sharing the recipe this week.

The Dinner: Copycat Souvla Salad from Recipe Tin Eats

Tips from Cooking Curated:

• If you are dairy-free, use Kite Hill’s almond milk greek yogurt for the marinade and the yoghurt dressing. Try the Violife vegan parmesan as well. 

• If you are not a fan of yogurt dressings, you can replace it with a simple lemony-greek option- just mix 2 tablespoons olive oil, the juice of half a lemon, and some garlic and oregano. Make sure to still use the yoghurt marinade for the chicken, however, to ensure tenderness and flavor. 

• The recipe provides instructions for making quick pickled onions- great if you are in a rush. If you can plan ahead, however, I suggest making a larger batch of pickled onions in the following way:

  1. Thinly slice two red onions and divide the slices between two 16 oz jars.

  2. Heat 2 cups vinegar (apple cider vinegar or distilled white vinegar will work great), 1 cup of water, 1/3 cup Lakanto Classic monkfruit sweetener, and 1 tablespoon himalayan pink sea salt in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil. 

  3. Once the mixture is boiling, reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the monkfruit crystals are completely dissolved. 

  4. Pour the heated mixture over the onions in the jars, and press the onions down with a spoon to ensure they are fully covered.

  5. Let the onions cool at room temperature for 30 minutes or so, and then place them in the fridge for at least two hours before using. 

  6. These instructions will yield enough pickled onions for four Copycat Souvla Salads, but they will last in the fridge for 1-2 weeks, and you can put them on anything from avocado toast to burgers!