It’s late Spring, we’re almost officially into Summer and the entertaining season is full-on: Saturday evening dinners, backyard BBQ’s on a lazy Sunday or throwing a party outside simply because it’s just too nice to stay indoors. This salad’s main ingredient is canned artichokes but if you’re so inclined to use fresh ones, you’ll make the salad even better!

I feature recipes on this site with varying degrees of difficulty but today’s your lucky day as this is a “toss everything in a bowl” kind of recipe and your most difficult task will be to gather the ingredients. There’s garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, Kalamata olives, capers and split peas…yes split peas! Us Greeks call split peas “Fava” and it’s also an ancient ingredient. Fava is often served in Greece as a dip but here I’m simply boiling it in seasoned water until tender then I strain it and add  into the salad bowl.

Add some chopped fresh chives and herbs from your garden and Greek olive oil and wine vinegar and the salad is complete…almost. I had some leftover shrimp in the freezer so I thawed those, seasoning and seared them in a skillet and allowed them to cool. The shrimp look mighty fine on top of this vibrant and delicious salad. Invited to a party and stuck with ideas on what to bring? Want to offer something new at your backyard BBQ? This artichoke salad will be the stand-out of the day.

Artichoke Salad With Split-Peas and Shrimp

(serves 4)

2/3 cup of yellow split peas, cooked

1 can (398ml) of artichoke hearts (drained), halved

4 sun-dried tomatoes, thinly sliced

1 roasted red bell pepper, sliced

6 Kalamata olives, pitted and sliced

2 Tbsp. of capers

1/3 cup extra-virgin Greek  olive oil

2-3 Tbsp. red wine vinegar

1/4 cup chopped fresh chives (or scallions)

1 tsp. of fresh thyme or oregano

1/4 chopped fresh basil

12 whole shrimp, cooked (thawed from frozen, grilled or sauteed)

salt and pepper to taste

1. For the split peas, add into a medium sized pot with a couple of bay leaves, 1 diced onion, about 1 1/2 cups of water and salt to taste. Bring to a boil over medium heat then simmer until the split peas are tender. Drain and allow to cool. Discard the bay leaves and empty the cooked split peas (and onions) into your bowl.
2. In the meantime, you may thaw your shrimp or even using fresh, peel the shells and de-vein and season with salt and pepper. Grill or saute your shrimp over high heat and cook until just pink on both sides. Allow to cool and reserve.
3. Add all the remaining salad ingredients into your bowl and toss. Now taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Transfer to a serving platter and top with your cooked shrimp and serve room temperature or cool.
4. Start the evening with a a bottle of chilled Biblia Xora Assyrtiko.