Nothing is more refreshing than a flavorful salad during the summertime. It”s light and quick and so very easy to whip up a salad rather than standing over your stove or turning your oven on. I don’t know if it’s just me, but I really don’t like to eat hot meals, especially heavy, hot meals in the summertime. Part of it could be because there is no air conditioning in houses near the beach in LA (I know… poor me) or because you’re so much more active during the warm months and the last thing you want to do is eat a big meal and crash!
This is one of my favorites and it really started as a hodge podge meal out of stuff that was in the fridge, but has turned into one of my favorite eats! The fun thing about this Mediterranean flatbread salad is that it is so versatile. You could easily swap out the bread, spread or salad to suit whatever mood you’re in.
We happen to eat a ton of hummus at our place! And I have tried making it many times in the past and always felt that it was a little lackluster. I always found it a little too lemony or a little bland, but I have finally cracked the delicious hummus code with this recipe. It is the perfect mix of spices and ingredients! I could not stop stealing tastes of it! It’s also super easy to make and super easy to adjust. If you love cilantro, add a handful! You could also do roasted red pepper, extra garlic, or even some black beans.
This meal is an easy assembly of your choice of bread, I used store bought pita. You could easily use a tortilla or wrap, even some big slices of toasted whole grain bread, and give a generous spread of the homemade hummus on top of that. Don’t like hummus, no big deal (although you could probably not survive at my place). You could easily use a yogurt sauce, such as tzatziki or a herbed cream cheese. Whatever your heart desires! Then I place a huge portion of a fresh greek salad, you could definitely sub this for one of your favs.
I love greek salads because they are packed with flavor, but are fresh and light and super simple. A light, lemony dressing compliments the pita and the hummus perfectly and of course a good sprinkling of feta is necessary.
These are wonderful for the summer time and perfect for weeknight meals or you could even do a DIY flatbread salad with a couple different options for a big gathering.
Eat as a salad with a fork or knife, or pick up like a taco… either way, these are scrumptious!
Ingredients
Hummus
4 garlic cloves
2 cups canned garbanzo beans, drained and liquid reserved
1½ teaspoons kosher salt
⅓ cup tahini
6 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons reserved garbanzo bean liquid
8 dashes hot sauce, optional
Greek Salad
1 medium head of romaine lettuce, washed and chopped into bite-size pieces
2 medium tomatoes, cored, seeded and diced into large pieces
1 medium cucumber, diced into large pieces
1 cup pitted kalamata olives, halved
½ medium red onion, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1½ teaspoons oregano (dried or fresh)
½ teaspoon kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
½ cup crumbled feta cheese
Flatbread Salad
Pita bread, warmed
Instructions
Hummus
In a food process fitted with a steel blade add garlic and process until minced.
Add the rest of the hummus ingredients to the food processor and puree until the hummus is smooth.
Taste and season as desired.
Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready for serving.
Greek Salad
Place the lettuce in a large bowl and add the tomatoes, cucumber olives and onions.
For the dressing, combined the oil, lemon juice, oregano, salt and pepper in a bowl and whisk to combine.
Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combined. Taste and add additional lemon juice, salt or pepper as need.
Sprinkle with feta.
Flatbread Salad Assembly
Take a warmed pita round and top with a generous amount of hummus.
Add a big scoop of salad on top of the hummus.
Serve immediately
