cooking4carnivores

It is literally 105 degrees here. That means I am not that interesting in having big heavy meals. Sorry mac and cheese, I love you but you will have to wait till it cools off some. So, as I was looking for light, I came across an ad in Bon Apetit with a recipe from Iron Chef Cat Cora. I had most of the ingredients on hand (thanks to the cucumbers from my dad's garden), so I accepted the challenge. What I got was a wonderfully filling main dish (for me) and a new snack (for both of us).

For this salad/snack you will need:
2-3 pitas, cut into triangles
1/4 cup of olive oil, and a bit more for drizzling
1 tblsp of sesame seeds
2 tsps of paprika
1 tsp of kosher salt
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 large cucumber, halved and sliced
1/2 pint of cherry or grape tomatoes halved
4-5 peperocini, sliced
2 green onions, sliced thin
juice from 1/2 a lemon
2 tblsps of fresh mint, chopped
1 tblsp of thyme

To make the pita chips, combined the oil, sesame seeds, paprika, and salt in a large bowl. Toss the pita triangles till coated. Place them on a baking sheet and cook in an oven pre-heated to 375 degrees for about 7 minutes. Set the aside to cool.

To make the salad toss the remain ingredients together. Place in the fridge covered for at least an hour to let the flavors blend. Then add a few pita chips to the mix and serve.

menu ideas:
The pita chips are wonderful on their own. You can even dip them in some hummus or baba ganoush. Of course, they are great in the salad. I had this salad for dinner one night while the carnivore had grilled chicken drummies, both of which are great with a baked potato.