Greek Cucumber and Arugula Salad - Iowa Girl Eats (2024)

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Howdy folks, how was your week? Ready for the Memorial Day weekend?!

I’ve spent the past couple of days in New York City in order to sit on a panel with my friends at The Laughing Cow for a food blogger’s conference. Luckily my airport has a direct flight to good ol’ NYC, and the timing worked out so I’d have an extra day to explore – so explore I did!

Although New York can be overwhelmingly busyit never ceases to suck me in thenleave me wanting more. And whileI begrudgingly started wandering around after dropping my bags off at the hotel wishing Ben was with me, I found myself still walking 6 hours, and 7+ miles later. I came back absolutely SPENT!

I alsoate at tworestaurants whichI recommend – nay, demand – you visitif you’re looking for gluten-free dining options in the city. First was Wei West, a5 minute walk from my hotel. It popped up on my Find Me GF app and when I visited the website the first thing I noticedwas that they serve GF Pad Thai. HALLELUJIAH! I haden’t eaten Pad Thai, one of my favorite dishes EVER, since my Celiac Disease diagnosis and I all but ran to the restaurant…after getting lost. Twice. Anyway, the dish tasted 100% like my old favoriteand I gobbled the entire thing up whilstflinging chopped peanuts around my hotel room due tothe intensity of my digging fork. No shame in my Pad Thai game (only in the iPhone photo I took of it.) I will seriously mourn the fact that we don’t have GF Pad Thai like this at home!

The second restaurant I have to give MAJOR props to is Pala Pizza. I was in the area getting Ben a grossly (I mean disgustingly) overpriced t-shirt from his favorite hip hop shop when my stomach started growling. Again I pulled up the restaurant app on my phone and it led me to Pala Pizza which not only has gluten-free crusts but a completely separate prep area, pizza oven and paddles for GF pizza. My waitress all but offered to pick my jaw up from the floor after delivering the good news.

I ordered the Bufala Cruda Prosciutto which had bufala mozzarella, a cherry tomato sauce, lots of prosciutto, and practicallya side salad of fresh basil. It was chewy, hot, cheesy, and, most importantly, did NOT taste gluten-free! This was probablymy favorite GF food find to datemostly because the pizza was thatgood but also because I was able todine with 100% confidence that I wasn’t going to get sick. I cannot wait to return!

Lest you think all I did was eat on this trip, I also directed someone to SOHO after being asked on the street then grinned like an idiot for 6 blocks because they mistook me for a local.

NBD.

I was hoping Ben and Lincoln could have come so we’d be able to extend the trip into Memorial Day weekend, but we decided cabs + car seats and navigating the busy streets of NYC with a fidgety toddler would be more stressful than not at this point in our lives. Instead we’re going to grill out with good friends and I’m bringing this Greek Cucumber and Arugula Salad to share with the group!

You may have noticed this salad lingering in the background of theProsciutto Wrapped Mediterranean Lamb Burgers with Bruschetta I shared earlier this week, and it nearly killed me tonot share the recipe right then and there.

Fresh cucumber, tomato, parsley, red onion, feta, and baby arugula are tossed witha luscious Oregano Lemon Vinaigrette then served as a light and healthy meatless main, or party or potluck side. I cannot tell you how refreshing and feel good this salad is. Spiked with the bold, bright flavors of the Mediterranean, it’s absolutely killer!

There’s pretty much two steps to this recipe: throw stuff in a bowl then toss it with dressing.Hey-o!

As I mentioned, you’ll need fresh tomatoes, red onion, and parsley,plus crumbled feta cheese and sliced kalamata olives.

Add everything to a bowl then top with a couplecucumbers that have either been thinly sliced, or spiralized. My Paderno Spiralizer and I are still going strong and I thought spiralizing the cucumberswould be a fun way to add theirflavor to the salad in a fun and interesting way. You could use either the thin or medium-sized blade then give the ribbons a rough chop before adding to the bowl.

Last up isbaby arugula. If you’ve never tried arugula for fear it’s too fancy for you – pish posh. You are SO fancy! Plus arugula is not fancy so we’re all coming out on top here. Truly arugula is a leaf with LOTS of flavor. It absolutely brings something special to this otherwise ordinary Greek Salad.

Last step is to whisk together an Oregano Lemon Vinaigrette which is just extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, dried oregano, honey, salt and pepper,then pour it on top.

Toss everything to combine, then serve and enjoy!

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