Greek Spinach Salad

Gee, this doesn't sound very Polynesian, does it? That's cus it's not. I figured we'll go take a quick detour over to the Aegean Sea and see what's cooking. Also I don't think too many folk like my Polynesian dishes, oh well.

UPDATE
To make this into a Vegetarian dish just don't use the bacon, no worries.
END UPDATE

This salad is by no means "traditional" Greek food, it's just something I make when baby spinach is in season using Greek seasonings and such.

You can vary the amounts if you'd like, no worries. Also this salad can easily be a meal by itself. This is good for side salad for four, or one person can use this as a meal themselves --as I've been known to do.

What you need:

6 cups fresh baby spinach, NOT packed down
1/2 of a small onion
2 rashers of bacon --or 4 US sized slices
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried mint
1/4 cup rough chopped kalamata olives
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese


What you do:

Thin slice the half onion. Get the slices as thin as you can; yes you can cheat and use a food processor if you can't shave an onion with a knife. Place the shaved onion in a bowl and add the lemon juice, salt, black pepper, oregano, and mint. Give it a good stir so the onions pick up that lemony goodness. Then let it sit for an hour.

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tock

While the onions are marinating, chop up the bacon rashers. Whatever size bacon pieces you'd like. I usually cut mine to around 3/4 of an inch before cooking. Cook the bacon pieces to your liking --extra crisy or just done, your choice. Drain the cooked bacon and set aside to cool. You don't need the drained bacon fat for this recipe, but I'm sure you'll want to keep it for future use.

After an hour...

Rinse and drain the spinach well. Put it into a large salad bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, toss in the onions WITH their marinade, add the olives and the feta. Mix well. Remember, some of the little tiny bits will end up at the bottom of the salad bowl so make sure you scoop from the bottom.

I do believe the next recipe *could* be for spanakopita, but no promises.

Moroccan Lamb Shish-Kebobs

It's the seasonings that make any shish-kabob unique. Whether it's Indian, Persian, Turkish, Greek, or say perhaps Moroccan, the key is in the seasonings and the way they are cooked.

Many kibob dishes aren't cooked on a grill even! However, we'll be sticking with the one most Westerners are familiar with and that means grilling them. Open flame, gas, or charcoal, your choice.

Shish-kibabs specifically refer to those that are grilled. Yummers!

BTW have you noticed I've used a lot of different spellings for "kabob"? You have? Good for you. I'm doing that since there are many different correct spellings depending on what country you are from.

I'll go with kebob from here on out. Also, I'll drop the "shish" since this whole post is about kebobs cooked on a grill. The reason why you are getting this wonderful dish is that a blog-buddy of mine had a Moroccan Feast Night and I thought this would make a good addition. I was right, of course.

I'm not going to give you an exact amount of meat to use. Why? Well you can use this as a side dish or a main course AND once you have the spice mix you can use it for other things. I keep a tin of it made up in the pantry so I only have to use what I need for the amount of lamb I have.

Oh, this also makes a very good rub for lamb roasts, chicken and beef. It's very versatile.

I realize that not all of you will have access to all the ingredients, so I'm also including appropriate substitutions, no worries.

If using bamboo skewers, make sure you soak them for an hour before using, don't want them to flame.

Here's what you need:

Lamb, cut into 1 inch cubes
bbq skewers
Some kind of grill. Gas, charcoal, open flame (be careful!). Heck, you can even do them under the broiler in your oven if need be.

Equal amounts (by volume) of the following:
coriander powder
dried red bell pepper powder
cumin powder
ginger powder
garlic powder
ground, dried sumac
chilli powder (only a bit though)
cassia powder
ground up cloves
sea salt

A tsp of each will make enough for several meals, no worries.

What can be substituted:


Coriander is called cilantro in North America, no worries.

Mild paprika powder can be used in place of the dried bell pepper powder (that's what paprika is, BTW).

Cinnamon can be subbed for cassia -they are so similar some folks think they are the same thing.

Ground sumac is one of the main ones. If you absolutely can't find it, then tamarind powder will work, and as a last resort: Lemon pepper powder.



Here's what you do:

Mix all the powders and seasonings in a bowl. You should have a wonderful, earthy smell from the powder combination. Thread the lamb pieces onto your skewers, and coat them with the rub. If the rub won't stick then you can drizzle a SMALL amount of olive oil on the kebobs to help the rub stick. You shouldn't have do do that though, the rub should stick. Especially if you, ah, rub the rub in.

A little bit goes a long way, btw.

Grill them on a low heat till they are done to your liking.

Serve with a bowl of greek yoghurt for a dipping sauce.

Enjoy!