Salad art

I’m thrilled by the inherent beauty in freshly picked herbs, shimmering with dew; cracked pomegranates with glowing crimson seeds; rustic french bread, steam billowing from an airy interior; and the list goes on—I could wax poetic about edible inspirations (did I borrow that from a fruit bouquet company tagline?) for hours. And capturing this beauty in a photo is almost as satisfying as devouring the finished product.

So imagine my delight when I had the opportunity to pair up with May van Millingen—an artist who takes as much pride in documenting a plate of food, in all its fleeting glory, as I do—to work on a photo/illustration collaboration.

I loved the colors and simplicity of these Greek salad sticks, and May did them proud.

You can see more of May’s beautiful work on here website, mayvanmilligen.com.

Oh yeah—and the recipe isn’t too shabby either.

Greek Salad on a stick with homemade tzatziki sauce

Makes about two dozen skewers

You’ll need:

1 head butter lettuce

1/2 of a red onion

1 hothouse/English cucumber

4 oz. feta cheese

toothpicks

For sauce:

7 oz. plain, full-fat Greek yogurt

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon dried dill

1/2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tablespoon lemon juice

3 tablespoons minced cucumber

salt and pepper to taste

Tear lettuce into small pieces (about the size of a business card); cut cucumbers and feta into 1/2-inch cubes; roughly chop onions into 1/2 inch pieces. Assemble skewers with a piece of lettuce, a cucumber piece, a piece of feta, another cucumber and a piece of red onion.

Mix all ingredients for tzatziki. Chill skewers and sauce for 10-15 minutes and then serve immediately.