I recreated the famous Souvla veggie salad...+ here's how it went!

I don’t eat out much, but when I do, it’s Souvla’s veggie salad. if you’re a Bay Area local, or even if you’ve been tot he Bay Area, you know what I’m talking about. greek-style food that just hits every time. me getting food to-go is typically when I first get home from a flight—my stomach is growling, my fridge is empty, and Souvla is walking distance from my house. I’ll admit it, there are definitely other times where I just want it because it is such a good salad and that’s ok! but! said salad ends up being ~$18 with tip each time. ouch. that adds up! so, I decided to recreate it myself in order to save a little money. and I’m here to share it with you, because, not to toot my own horn but this turned to pretty dang good. I did make a little tweaks to cater to my likes but feel free to add whatever you’d like to your salad ! for protein, I added some salmon on the side and wow! this is about to be a weekly staple in my home.

INGREDIENTS

~the salad~

2 c. lacinto kale : chopped

2 c. romaine lettuce : chopped

1 lb white sweet potato : roasted + sliced in 1/4'“ thick rounds

3 tbsp kalamata olives : chopped (pre-sliced Trader Joe’s works great!)

1/3 c. cucumber : cut into fourths

1 c. walnuts : toasted

1/4 c. feta cheese : crumbled on top

pickled red onions : topping

microgreens : topping

~the dressing~

3/4 c. greek yogurt (we love Fage!)

1 lemon : juiced

3 tbsp parsley : chopped

2 garlic cloves : pressed or grated

salt : to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

make sure you have pickled red onions prepped before this or make those first so that they’re ready in time to add to your salad. here’s a quick how-to recipe for you to get that going.

then start by preheating your oven to 400*F

wash + scrub your sweet potato, wrap it in tinfoil and place it in the oven. bake for ~1hr or until its tender and can be easily pierced with a fork.

while your sweet potato is cooking, add the walnuts to a baking sheet and cook for 6-8 minutes. the walnuts should be golden brown, but check them at 6 minutes because they can burn quick! trust me.

next, grab a jar (mason jar, old jam jar, whatever works!) and add all the dressing ingredients into the jar. shake it up to get it all mixed together. set aside.

get all other items chopped up and ready to go.

add the kale into a large bowl and drizzle in 1 tbsp EVOO and pinch of salt. we’ve said this before, but it’s important to massage your kale! so get your hands in there and massage that kale. only about 10-15 times of massaging the kale in-between your hands. add the romaine and 1/4 c. of the dressing into your large bowl with kale. toss until all lettuce is lightly coated with the dressing.

divide lettuce between two or three bowls. top with your sliced sweet potato, olives, pickled red onions, cucumbers, toasted walnuts, feta, and sprouts. do one last light drizzle of dressing if you desire.

and ENJOY ! :-)

share your creations with us! @lioness_academy and @femmeroyalemovement on Instagram! we love to see you make our recipes and what modifications you might make!