Recipe | Greek Salad with Kale and Turkey meatballs

Today I am going to share an updated, make-it-your-own version of the Greek Gyro salad that I posted a couple of years ago (which I had already heavily adapted from a recipe I found online), and because I feel like it’s an even better (and dare I say healthier) version, I wanted to share.

Jon and I love kale, and I especially come to love kale used in salads. It’s a crunchy, healthy, and filling substitute for regular lettuce. Usually, you don’t want to have greens sit in the dressing too long before serving, but with kale, it’s actually good to combine all ingredients and dressing a bit in advance, because the acid in the vinegar in your dressing will help soften and break down the cellulose in the kale and damp down the bitterness.

With the cucumbers and bell pepper added, this makes for a fresh and crunchy salad.

Dressing:

1/4 cup plain greek yogurt
1 clove garlic minced
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup feta crumbled
salt + pepper to taste

For the salad:

10 oz kale
1 bell pepper (chopped)
8 oz grape tomatoes (halved)
1 half cucumber (cubed)
4 hardboiled eggs (halved)
2 rounds of pita bread (quartered)

For the meatballs:

1 lb ground turkey
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 tbsp 21 seasoning salute

Prepare the dressing. In a big bowl, combine the chopped kale with the dressing and massage the kale (yes, I use my fingers for this!) for a few minutes until it’s well-coated with the dressing. Set aside.

Get water boiling and cook 4 eggs (hardboiled takes about 10 minutes).

For the meatballs, combine the ground turkey, breadcrumbs, and seasoning in a bowl and mix well. Form about 20-24 small meatballs and fry them in a small frying pan.

While the meatballs are cooking, chop up the bell pepper, halve the grape tomatoes, and peel, and then cube the cucumber.

When the meatballs are done, add the veggies to the bowl with the marinated kale and mix well. Heat the pita bread (30 seconds in the microwave between two damp paper towels will do!) and cut in quarters. Peel and halve the boiled eggs.

Arrange everything on a plate and enjoy the crunch!

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This will be one of our go-to salads this summer. It’s a quick meal, easy to prepare in advance (you can even prepare and pre-cook the meatballs and store them in the fridge), and just a filling and healthy meal for a hot day.