I love, love, love a good grocery store. Overflowing rainbow displays of fresh produce are the first to greet you, and then there are the wonderful bulk bins with infinite possibilities and always a mysterious legume or grain. Organic is the rule, not the exception. Going grocery shopping feels like an event, an escape – never a chore.
My favorites in the Pacific Northwest include PCC Natural Markets, Town & Country Markets, and, of course, Whole Foods. Whole Foods is where we found ourselves meandering a couple of Saturdays ago, as we picked up a few groceries for the week. And it’s also where we found ourselves inhaling a sample of this simple salad of roasted peppers, olive oil, parsley, and feta cheese.
I usually roast my red peppers under the broiler, but this recipe calls for roasting them in a baking dish along with a good amount of olive oil. The peppers soften, wither, and brown a little, all the while infusing the olive oil with their peppery goodness. The oil is then used to dress the salad. Kind of genius, right?
The original recipe includes the option of using preserved lemon, which I didn’t have. So I just perked it up with a little lemon zest.
Fresh, salty, and bright. We’ve enjoyed this roasted pepper & feta salad by itself, as a side dish, and – especially great – stuffed into grilled whole wheat pitas along with salt and pepper tofu for me and chicken for him.