Tonight's Side Dish: Tomato Feta Salad

In addition to tonight's Chicken Picatta, I made a Tomato Feta Salad. It has come to light recently that Bryan and I have very, very different "favorite" vegetables, so it's important to accommodate both our tastes. For example, Bryan doesn't like broccoli. I love broccoli. Bryan doesn't like artichokes. I LOVE artichokes. Bryan loves corn. I'm so-so on corn, but feel that it doesn't pair well with certain proteins. The list goes on and on, but the one thing we can agree on is that we both really like tomatoes, onions, basil and feta cheese. So the answer to tonight's side dish dilemma was easy: Tomato Feta Salad.

It's easy to make, as long as you don't mind slicing and chopping for a while. It took me about 20 minutes to make the entire salad, but it's better if you can let it sit for 15-30 minutes or so before eating it. The flavors really meld as it comes to room temperature, increasing it's deliciousness.

Here's how you make it:

• 4 pints grape tomatoes, red or mixed colors
• 1 medium seedless cucumber, peeled and diced
• 1 1/2 cups small-diced red onion (2 onions)
• 1/4 cup good white wine vinegar
• 6 tablespoons good olive oil
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 1 1/2 pounds feta cheese

Cut the tomatoes in half and place them in a large bowl. Add the cucumber, onion, vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper, basil, and parsley and toss well. Dice the feta in 1/2 to 3/4-inch cubes, crumbling it as little as possible. Gently fold it into the salad and serve at room temperature.