Greek Lamb and Feta Salad
recipe
Not long ago the salad was merely one component of the meal, and often an afterthought at that. What we got in those little wooden bowls was usually just a few greens, some tomato wedges, and sliced cucumbers tossed with bottled dressing. Sometimes, it was even more basic, like the hearts of lettuce drowned in Russian dressing at hotel banquets.
Now salads can be the meal and contain almost anything, from shrimp to water chestnuts. This makes our choices for Cooking to Beat the Clock meals much greater by allowing us to use what looks good in the market along with the full arsenal of our well-stocked pantry. Even leftovers from the fridge are candidates.
Another development in salads is that they don’t have to be cold any more. This gives us even more flexibility. The Greek Lamb and Feta Salad below is a good example. While the pounded (to cook faster) butterflied leg of lamb cooks in the skillet—the broiler or gas grill takes too long to heat up, but use either if you like—the salad greens are being washed and dried, the vegetables chopped, and the dressing mixed. It’s very important that the salad greens and all the other vegetables be as dry as possible to allow the dressing to adhere properly. A salad spinner helps tremendously here.
Leftover lamb from Easter dinner makes things even easier. But as with all the other recipes for this column, no previous cooking or leftovers are required. Don’t like lamb? Substitute flank steak. But make sure you cut it against the grain so it will be tender. If you can’t find the sweet and delicate Mediterranean oregano (sometimes called Greek or Turkish) for this dish, don’t use the sharp oregano found in pizza parlors. Instead use fresh mint. I don’t use tomatoes in a salad unless they are locally grown. But if you feel you must have tomatoes, the cherry or pear shaped tomatoes from Florida aren’t bad this time of year. A nice accompaniment would be toasted pita bread.
Greek Lamb and Feta Salad top
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1 pound piece of butterflied leg of lamb trimmed of excess fat and pounded evenly (by the butcher if possible) to about half its original thickness
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Salt and freshly ground black pepper
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1 head romaine, about 1 pound
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One 15-ounce can water-packed artichoke hearts
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1 English seedless cucumber, about 1 pound (or the equivalent of other cucumbers)
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1 small sweet onion such as Vidalia, or mild red onion, about 8 ounces
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1 cup roasted red bell peppers from a jar
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1 tablespoon dried Greek oregano or 6 large sprigs fresh mint, enough for 1/2 cup packed leaves
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1 clove garlic
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1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
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2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
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24 pitted kalamata olives
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4 ounces feta cheese
1)Put a large cast iron or other heavy skillet over medium heat while you season the lamb with salt and pepper. (If the butcher hasn’t done so, pound the lamb between two sheets of aluminum foil or wax paper with the side of a cleaver or a meat pounder before seasoning.)
2)Put the lamb in the skillet, raise the heat to high, and cover. Cook for about 5 minutes on each side for medium rare.
3)Meanwhile, cut 1/2-inch from the top and bottom of the romaine and cut the head crosswise into 1-inch-wide strips. Put the strips in a salad spinner and fill with water. Drain and spin dry. Wrap in paper towels to remove excess moisture.
4)While you’re spinning the salad dry, open the can of artichoke hearts into a small colander to drain. Trim, and cut the cucumber into thin slices. (Peel if using cucumbers with a waxy skin.) Cut off a thin slice from the top and bottom of the onion, halve lengthwise, peel each half, and cut crosswise into thin half moon slices. Cut the red peppers into thin strips. Gently squeeze out any excess liquid from the artichoke hearts and cut them in quarters (or sixths if especially large). Dab all the vegetables with paper towels to remove any excess moisture. Put the artichoke hearts, cucumbers, onion, red bell peppers, and romaine into a large salad bowl.
5)Crush the dried oregano with your fingers into a small jar with a screw cap top (or chop the mint leaves and add to the jar). Peel and mince the garlic. Add the garlic, oil, vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste to the jar. Cover and shake well. Coarsely chop the olives and crumble or coarsely chop the feta.
6)When the lamb is done cut it on the diagonal into thin slices 2 to 3 inches long and about 1 inch wide. Add to the vegetables. Pour the dressing over and toss well. Sprinkle with the olives and feta.
Serves 4.
Per serving: 527 calories, 33 grams protein, 25 grams carbohydrate, 34 grams fat, 9 grams saturated fat, 98 mg cholesterol, 1008 mg sodium.