Garden Salad Recipe

Prepare leaves

Wash the mixed salad leaves thoroughly in cold water, spin or pat dry, and transfer to a large serving bowl. Aim for 6 cups loosely packed leaves.

Prep tomatoes and olives

Rinse the cherry tomatoes and halve them. Drain and halve the pitted black olives. Add both to the bowl with the leaves.

Slice onion

Peel and cut the red onion in half. Slice very thinly (use a mandoline or sharp knife). If you want milder onion flavor, soak the slices in cold water for 5 minutes, then drain and blot dry. Add to the bowl.

Add feta

Crumble the feta cheese and sprinkle evenly over the salad.

Prepare avocado

Cut the avocado in half, remove the pit, peel or scoop flesh, and cut into 8–10 slices or bite-sized cubes. Add the avocado on top of the arranged salad just before dressing to prevent browning.

In a small bowl or jar, combine the lemon juice, orange juice, white wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, and honey. Whisk or shake to blend the mustard and honey fully.

Slowly drizzle in the extra-virgin olive oil while whisking constantly (or add oil to jar and shake vigorously) to emulsify the dressing.

Stir in the minced garlic, then season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Taste and adjust: add up to 1/4 tsp more salt or 1/2 tsp more honey if desired, or a splash more lemon juice for brighter acidity.

If you prepared the onion in cold water, drain again and pat dry. Pour the vinaigrette over the salad just before serving and toss gently to combine so avocado stays intact.