The Splendid Salmon

DucCat rang me one evening. His meeting on the other side of town had run into overtime, and at that late hour, he was going to meet up with a friend and have dinner out.

We'd planned on going out to dinner together, and I didn't have a back-up plan. I pulled open the fridge, where the leftover smoked salmon still sat. Looking over the shelves, I suddenly remembered an email that had arrived earlier in the day.

I subscribe to Lynne Rossetto Kasper's The Splendid Table weekly email, which always includes a recipe. That days had been "Greek Salad Sandwiches with Feta Dressing", and was built to be a weeknight meal. Fast, easy, and most importantly, I had everything that I needed on hand.

I pulled out the last gasp of pita dough that was burbling meekly in the fridge, and fired up the oven. By the time it had reached temp, the prep work was finished, the dressing was ready, and all I needed was a pita to wrap it all up in.

The puff was slightly better this time around, but still pretty small. I'd turned the oven up to it's highest temperature of 500 degrees, but I fear that the yeast was almost dead anyway. As before, it still tasted pretty good.




The recipe makes four, but I only made enough for myself. Without measuring, I threw the ingredients (minus the salt- the feta I had was salty enough) for the dressing into my small chopper, and gave it a whirl.

The consistency was still extremely thick, and the taste wasn't quite right, either. I added a couple of cloves of garlic, more lemon juice, and some sour cream. With another crack of black pepper, it was just perfect- tangy, creamy, garlicky goodness.

Of course, there was still the matter of the salmon. I chunked it up, and added it to the vegetables. This time around, the smoky fish made the perfect counterpoint to the piquant, lively mixture. This recipe will definately make many visits to our kitchen!

Greek Salad Sandwiches with Feta Dressing

Received from Lynn Rossetto Caspar's weekly food email
Recipe from Sara's Secrets for Weeknight Meals

4 ounces good-quality feta cheese, crumbled (about 2/3 cup)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 Tablespoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh oregano leaves, or 1/2 teaspoon dried
Kosher salt and freshly milled black pepper
one 5-ounce packed rinsed baby spinach
4 medium plum tomatoes (about 12 ounces), halved and thinly sliced
6-inch piece English cucumber, thinly sliced (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 cup canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup rinsed and dried fresh mint leaves
1/3 cup pitted, brine-cured olives such as kalamata
6 peperoncini, chopped
four 5- to 6- inch pita rounds cut in half

Combine feta, oil, 3 Tablespoons water, the mayonnaise, lemon juice and oregano in blender/f.p., blending until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Combine remaining ingredients with feta dressing. Divide salad mixture among the 8 pita halves and serve.

s'kat's notes: I made this recipe to serve one, adding more lemon juice, 2 cloves of garlic, a good dollop of sour cream, and smoked salmon.