Greek Salmon

Greek Salmon

Do you go to the doctor very often? Most of my life I’ve tried to avoid doing that. I always had the view that I don’t want them to start looking at me too closely. They are highly trained professionals. The more you let them examine you, the more likely it is that they will find something. That is what they are trained to do. If you keep your distance from them you’ll be fine. If they look close enough and long enough, they’ll find a problem.

But, do I listen to my own advice? No!! Several years ago I developed a problem with my tonsils. Against my better judgement, I went to the doctor. Well, I let him look at me and of course, the tonsil had to be removed. Two thousand dollars (out of pocket) later, I have a sore throat.

Is that the end of it? Well, no. The next thing I know, he is telling me that my blood pressure is a little high and it needs to be monitored regularly. Oh, all right. 

That is probably the end of my story, right? Not exactly. Now the doctor tells me that I need a colonoscopy. I think to myself, “You got to be kidding me!” This all started with a tonsil, which, the last time I checked, was in my mouth. Now they want to look up the other end, and they wonder why my blood pressure is high! I’m about to put my foot down but instead, I look at the doctor and say, “um, ... ok”

Next, the doctor tells me to wait here and then leaves the room.  After the usual twenty minute wait, the nurse comes in and tells me that the doctor is scheduling a colonoscopy for me and then  she asks me if I want to do this. I can’t really explain the thoughts that ran through my mind when she asked me this question. I felt like asking her if she was a freaking idiot. Instead I smiled and responded that a colonoscopy would fulfill my life’s ambition. The next thing I know she is frowning and getting all snippy with me. I really don’t understand women!

In addition to the colonoscopy, the doctor ordered a blood test for me, which I obediently have. Finally, Friday night comes and I am on my way to have a nice dinner with some friends and the phone rings. Who do you think it is? Yep, it is that snippy nurse from the doctor’s office. She is calling to tell me that my cholesterol is high (Dear Lord, all this over a tonsil!). She said I’m supposed to exercise and cut down the fat in my diet. Now, wait a minute, I tell her. I already run three miles three times a week. She responds in her snippy voice that I should then cut down the fat in my diet. Yea, fine, I respond and hang up the phone. 

When I get to the restaurant, I had planned to order the extra large steak, charred rare, fried potato skins, garlic bread with extra butter, but then I heard that snippy voice in the back of my mind. Damn! After Nurse Snippy’s stern lecture, I wouldn’t even enjoy the damned steak. 

I looked the menu over real well and all the things I wanted wouldn’t pass the ‘snippy’ test. Then I noticed that they had Greek Salmon on the menu, which the description said was baked with tomatoes and feta cheese in olive oil. That didn’t sound too bad, although it would never be my first choice. Damn, I was in the mood for a steak but I just couldn’t.  So I ordered the Greek Salmon. It wasn’t too bad. Here is my best guess how to make it.

Ingredients

2 tomatoes, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 tsp. oregano

1/4 cup red bell pepper, chopped

1/4 cup kalamata olives, chopped

Key limes to squeeze 

Olive oil

1 onion chopped

Cajun seasoning

Black pepper

2 salmon filets 

1/3 lb. feta cheese, crumbled

Preparation

In a bowl add the tomatoes, garlic, oregano, bell pepper, olives and the juice of one key lime. Allow the bowl to sit at room temperature for one hour.

Heat a skillet over medium heat until hot. Add olive oil to coat and then add the onion. When the onion starts to brown, add the salmon and sear it on both sides.  Season it with black pepper and Cajun seasoning. Top the salmon with the tomato mixture and then top that with the crumbled feta cheese. Bake the fish in a 400˚ oven for seven to ten minutes. Squeeze key lime juice over the salmon before serving.

Serving

Serve this salmon with potato wedges that were roasted with olive oil and garlic until they are golden brown, a large Greek salad, fresh homemade bread and a nice crisp white wine from Greece. Oh heck, as long as we are doing this Greek thing, why not have some fried cheese as an appetizer (I know, the snippy nurse wouldn’t approve, but I won’t tell if you don’t).