Garden Salad Bowl Recipe

Hard-boil eggs

Place the eggs in a single layer in a small saucepan and add cold water to cover by about 1 inch. Bring to a gentle boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling, remove from heat, cover, and let sit for 9 minutes for fully set yolks. Transfer eggs to a bowl of ice water and chill 5 minutes to stop cooking. Peel and quarter or slice.

Wash and spin or pat dry the baby mixed greens thoroughly. Dry leaves hold dressing better and keep the salad crisp.

Core the tomato, remove seeds with a spoon if desired, and dice into roughly 1/2-inch pieces.

Peel the cucumber if desired, trim the ends, and cut into 1/4–1/2-inch dice so pieces are similar in size to the tomato.

Trim and seed the green bell pepper, then cut into thin slices or small strips about 1/4-inch wide.

Peel the red onion, cut in half pole-to-pole, and slice very thinly. If raw onion is sharp, soak slices briefly in cold water 5 minutes and drain to mellow flavor.

Halve or quarter pitted Kalamata olives if larger; measure out quantity and set aside.

In a large salad bowl, arrange the 6 cups of baby mixed greens as a base.

Evenly distribute the diced tomato and diced cucumber over the greens.

Scatter the sliced red onion and green pepper over the salad so flavors are distributed.

Add the halved Kalamata olives across the surface.

Place the quartered or sliced hard-boiled eggs on top or tuck them around the bowl for presentation.

Season lightly with 1/4 tsp kosher salt and 1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper, adjusted to taste.

Sprinkle optional crumbled feta or shaved Parmesan and toasted seeds or nuts if using.

Serve immediately with lemon wedges and the choice of dressing on the side so diners can dress to taste. Typical dressings that pair well: vinaigrette (olive oil + red wine vinegar), ranch, or balsamic; roughly 2–4 tablespoons dressing per serving is typical depending on preference.