Greek Style Salad with Simple Dressing

photo by Alison Tyne

Slowly but steadily I have had a new fan every week or so on the Artistic Eatables Facebook page, even during my recent hiatus - thank you to all who have patiently waited for a new recipe!

This weekend, my friend Alison came to photograph my husband's band. After they got home, we decided on a non-traditional salad for dinner and chose to create our version of a dish from Salads by Jane Price.



INGREDIENTS (serves 3-4)
For a vegan meal, be sure to omit the cheese.

• 1 bag baby spinach
• 1 can artichoke hearts, drained, halved or quartered
• 1 lemon, zest and juice
• sundried tomatoes, cut into strips
• kalamata olives, pitted
• 1/2 red pepper, sliced (roasted red peppers would also be nice)
• feta cheese (optional; parmesan is another alternative)
• olive oil
• freshly ground black pepper, optional

DIRECTIONS
To plate each salad:

1. Lay down a bed of baby spinach.
2. Arrange a few artichoke hearts, olives, and red pepper slices around the edge of the plate.
3. Sprinkle sundried tomato strips over greens.
4. Top with some lemon zest and feta cheese (if using).
5. Drizzle a small amount of olive oil, then about 1/4 of the lemon juice over your salad.
6. Top with some freshly ground black pepper, if desired, then serve.

Pasta with Lemon, Artichokes, and Spinach

Pasta with tomato sauce is one of my longtime go-to's for an easy dinner. But sometimes it's fun to mix it up! This is a simple vegetarian pasta dish with a LOT of flavor. I used the marinade packed with the artichokes to flavor the dish, and topped it with Parmesan cheese as a finish. The result: a delicious dish that's pretty healthy. If you're a fan of feta cheese, you may want to try replacing the Parm with feta for a stronger cheese flavor.


Ingredients
**(for a gluten-free meal, be sure to use gluten-free pasta, such as rice pasta)

• 1 lb long pasta (I used thin spaghetti)
• olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 small onion, chopped
• one 15 oz jar artichokes, with marinade / juices reserved
• 1 lb baby spinach leaves
• 1 lemon (juice and zest)
• 4 oz Parmesan cheese (half a container)

Directions

1. Boil water in large stockpot. Steam spinach above the boiling water OR steam spinach in the microwave.
2. Cook pasta according to package directions. Rinse well.
3. While pasta is cooking, heat olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat.
4. Cook onion and garlic until onion is translucent.
5. Add artichokes and their marinade. Cook until artichokes are heated throughout.
6. Turn off heat and add spinach to artichoke mixture.
7. Return pasta to stockpot and pour juice from artichoke / onions over pasta. Stir well.
8. Add rest of artichoke / onion / spinach mixture to pasta. Stir well.
9. Add grated zest and juice of lemon to pasta. Stir well.
10. Finally, add Parmesan cheese to pasta and stir to coat. Serve immediately.