Sometimes you want to take perfectly succulent meat and fold it into a giant sandwich. Sometimes you want to take everything that would go in the sandwich and toss it up with a giant bowl of mixed greens. That day is today.
There is a small chain of souvlaki restaurants in San Fransisco that I love, called Souvla. And they do both giant sandwiches of roasted lamb and giant salads with it. I’m pretty partial to the salad, which is enormous, but still perfect with a side of fries and some Greek rose wine.
(But be careful with the wine. One time, a woman in line behind me urged me to go for it, but neither of us apparently knew how to visualize milliliters, because what I thought was essentially two glasses worth of wine turned out to be more than half a bottle. Let’s just say the rest of my evening was slightly more tipsy than planned.)
In another attempt to master a favorite salad at home, I decided to take leftover braised lamb and toss it up in a salad, Souvla style. This salad is stuffed full of goodness, from veggies to meat to cheese to yogurt and harissa to a lemony dressing. It’s meaty and spicy and refreshing and zingy all at once, and a full meal for sure, best served to yourself in a giant mixing bowl. A surplus of rose is optional.
Giant Lamb Salad
Inspired by Souvla, makes enough for 2-3 large salads
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tsp fresh oregano
- extra virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper
- 1 recipe braised lamb, shredded
- 1 tbs harissa
- 1/4 cup whole milk greek yogurt
- 1 cucumber, peeled and cut into large chunks
- 1 cup pickled red onion
- 1 cup thinly sliced radish
- feta (a lot)
- salad greens
- In a large bowl, whisk together lemon juice, oregano, and enough olive oil to form a vinaigrette. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- If you are making one giant salad, pile a bunch of salad greens in the bowl on top of the dressing, otherwise, portion the dressing out into smaller bowls and add greens to those.
- Mix together harissa and yogurt in a small bowl, then dollop on top of the piles of greens. top greens with all remaining mix-ins and shower with as much feta as you dare.
- Toss salad to combine and completely coat with dressing. Serve immediately.