My recent traveling companion in Europe found my obsession with green veggies quite amusing. If I didn't get them every day, I went into a kind of emotional panic. I love green beans. I love broccoli. And I LOVE salad.
Tonight I built my meal around this salad, which I've adapted numerous times from my friend Verda's Classic Green Salad. This version had a new twist - mizithra cheese. I had walked into the grocery story planning on making a Greek salad, but when I reached up for my favorite tasty imported feta I noticed a new addition to the imported cheese selection. Mmmmm... Verda's salad with Mizithra.
What else could I do with it? Well, I've always wanted to imitate The Old Spaghetti Factory's "spaghetti w/ browned butter & mizithra", so I headed over to the pasta aisle and picked up some whole wheat linguini. And since my brother taste-tester is a carnivore, I also picked up some chicken thighs and garlic.
The Chicken:
Oven at 450.
Chicken pieces arranged skin side up on a broiler pan.
Make a paste of crushed garlic, dried oregano, sea salt, and a little melted butter and spread it around under the skin.
Brush the rest of the melted butter on top of the skin and sprinkle with a little more salt (I used course grey sea salt and it was amazing!).
Bake at 450 for 45 minutes.
The Pasta:
Cook the pasta as directed, being careful not to overcook. It should have a bit of a bite left. Remember to add a touch of salt to the cooking water.
Melt butter in a frying pan at a low heat (I was winging this one). I think I remember correctly that you're supposed to continue to heat it until the foam has subsided and it starts to give off a nutty smell and acquire a slightly browned appearance.
Toss the spaghetti w/ the butter in the pan, then transfer to a serving dish.
Grate copious amounts of mizithra onto the spaghetti.
Finish with a generous sprinkling of freshly ground pepper.
*Also good with parmesan instead of mizithra and olive oil instead of butter.
The Salad:
Choose your own ratio of ingredients...
red leaf lettuce (I think it mixes with other ingredients better than romaine)
thinly sliced carrot (the originals ... not the babies)
thinly sliced cucumber (make sure you peel it if it's not an English cucumber)
grated mizithra (or parmesan)
dressing: oregano, olive oil, sherry (or red wine) vinegar, s & p
16 August 2007
An obsession with salad
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4 comments:
wow, I'm impressed at what you've become! I would gladly eat at your dinner table :)
:) Thanks! That's what I like to hear.
I didn't know you had this blog!
*waves hello and toddles off to add this blog to her links*
I didn't know you had it either. Do you EVER tell your mother anything? J/K :-)
Love you.
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