MACEDONIAN LETTUCE
SALAD WITH YOGHURT
This unusual salad
comes from the mountainous area of Macedonia which borders on Greece on
the eastern edge of what was Yugoslavia. Indeed, the very name of the area
itself is in dispute with its neighbour. Its hares with the rest of the
area a cooking tradition that's heavily influenced by Turkish and Middle
Eastern tastes and flavours, and this use of yoghurt as a salad dressing
is typical of that connection.
SERVES 4
INGREDIENTS
3 small
cos lettuce (Little Gem type)
1 tsp slat
8 ozs thick
Greek style yoghurt
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp lemon
juice
1 tbsp oil
(olive if possible)
METHOD
Separate the leaves
on the lettuce, wash them thoroughly and dry them. Tear each of the bigger
leaves in half and arrange in a bowl.
Not more than
5 minutes before you're ready to eat, sprinkle the salt over the lettuce
and beat the oil, lemon juice and sugar into the yoghurt.
Pour the yoghurt
over the lettuce and toss gently and serve rapidly. The lettuce will wilt
if kept for more than 10 minutes in this dressing, but before then its
crispness and the creaminess of the dressing complement each other wonderfully