Beef Souvlaki Salad & Greek Vinaigrette

In case you’ve never read this blog before, I <3 Greek & Lebanese food.  It’s up there in my Top 5 Cuisines.  Alas, there aren’t many Mediterranean restaurants here in Springfield.  For some reason, they don’t seem to last, which is really, really sad.  I have to wait until I’m down in Louisiana (where you can find one on every street in Lafayette) or until the local Greek Orthodox church has their annual festival.

Dolmathes make me melt.

Lebanese food was another one of my “NOLA Firsts”.  Our meeting place?  Lebanon’s Cafe on Carrollton.  I drooled over my chicken souvlaki & Lebanese iced tea.  And I was hooked.  Greece also had the best food of our entire honeymoon (and cheapest, for the record).  There’s just something magical about that marriage of lemon & oregano and yogurt sauce.  But sometimes, you can’t get what you want…so you have to make it yourself.

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb lean beef, cubed or cut into 1 inch strips

1 onion, chunked

2 tbsp lemon juice

1.5 tbsp oregano (Greek oregano if you can find it)

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp Greek Rub (I get mine from Pampered Chef)

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1/4 cup olive oil

lettuce, tomatoes, feta , & kalamata olives (assuming your husband doesn’t hate them…lucky) for salad

VINAIGRETTE:

2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup good olive oil

DIRECTIONS:

Make the vinaigrette first, & refrigerate.

Then mix your marinade in a large container (or Ziploc) with the beef & onions & let marinate for about 12-24 hours. The acid in the lemon will help to tenderize the meat.

Heat a grill pan over med-high heat and then grill the beef & onions until no longer pink.

Serve over a bed of fresh veggies and top with your vinaigrette.

Not exactly like Athens, but definitely delicious!

NutriFacts:  (makes 4 servings)

  Calories 402.6

  Total Fat 29.4 g

  Saturated Fat 10.1 g

  Polyunsaturated Fat 1.0 g

  Monounsaturated Fat 7.7 g

  Cholesterol 83.9 mg

  Sodium 549.7 mg

  Potassium 559.8 mg

  Total Carbohydrate 12.3 g

  Dietary Fiber 2.4 g

  Sugars 1.4 g

  Protein 21.6 g