Today I made a cheater's Greek salad and a non-cheater's Greek lentil soup. Shockingly, every member of my family gobbled up both.
Non-Cheater's Greek Lentil Soup (adapted from The Bean Bible by Aliza Green)
1 lb dried brown lentils
8 cups light chicken stock (I used my rich chicken stock, diluted by half with water)
2 cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped carrot
1 cup sliced celery
1 Tbsp chopped garlic
8 oz canned tomato sauce
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp dried oregano
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
Place the lentils in a pot with the stock and bring to a boil. Simmer for one hour; stop early if the lentils get quite tender before then.
Add everything else EXCEPT the vinegar and cook for 30 more minutes. I had to add a little more water at this point.
Just before serving, stir in the vinegar.
The scent of the soup reminded me of my favorite minestrone, but the soup was much easier than minestrone (although it cooks longer than minestrone-with-canned-beans). I suspect you could crock-pot it, adding everything at once in the morning, with great success; the acid and salt shouldn't be a problem for long-cooked lentils.
Cheater's Composed Greek Salad For A Family
First I made
this vinaigrette in my food processor. More or less. I just used ordinary oregano, all extra-virgin olive oil, and some onion instead of shallot. What's the deal with shallots anyway? I think onions taste better.
Then I tossed chopped romaine lettuce with the dressing, and also some chopped tomatoes with the dressing in a separate bowl. I chopped up some cucumbers, cut into tiny cubes some monterey jack cheese (no feta in the house), minced some red bell pepper, and opened a can of sliced black olives and a jar of banana pepper rings. And I sliced some more onions paper thin.
Then I put the dressed lettuce in everybody's salad bowl, and with my family at the table I started calling out questions. "Who doesn't want tomatoes? Who doesn't want black olives? Who doesn't want raw onion?" It only took me a few seconds to top everybody's salad and omit all the correct ingredients.
Very well-received, even with the stuff from cans and jars. I even liked mine. I can suspend my food snobbery when necessary.
(I did wish for a little feta, though.)
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