Tilapia over Greek Salad

Sometimes, even when you have all of the ingredients, you just can’t seem to recreate the meal that you loved at your favorite restaurant. I often feel that way about salads. They may seem simple, but the dressing on a salad is often more important than the salad toppings themselves and can vary so much from restaurant to restaurant and from bottle to bottle.

There is a restaurant called Aegean, near my hometown, that has the best Greek Salad ever (well, not including the ones in Greece probably). They top the salads with amazingly fresh seafood and actually sell their house dressing in amazing bottles that you can refill at the restaurant for just a few dollars.

Sadly, I no longer live there and its a long commute for a meal, so I decided to recreate the meal to the best of my ability. The first step was finding an equally masterful greek dressing. I tried a bunch…I even tried making my own, to no avail. Enter Gazebo Room – - a secret family recipe for the last 50 years. At least according to their site.

When I can’t make something on my own, I really like to find something that says Secret Family Recipe…or Family Tradition. That usually means grandmama had something to do with it and that usually means it will be delicious.

• 2 Tilapia Fillets
• 1 tsp Soy Sauce
• 1 Tbsp Chipotle Mayo
• Pepper and Garlic Powder to taste
• 4 Cups Sweet Butter Lettuce
• 1/4 Cup Feta
• 1 Medium Tomato, sliced
• 1/2 Cucumber, sliced
• 1 tsp Pepper
• 2 tsp Lime
• 1 tsp Garlic
• 1 tsp Salt
• 2 Tbsp Gazebo Room Greek Salad Dressing

Brush Tilapia with Soy Sauce, Mayonnaise, Pepper and Garlic Powder. Toss Cucumber with Pepper, Lime, Garlic and Salt. Place both in the refrigerator and let marinate for 30 minutes.

Grill Tilapia for 5 minutes per side on aluminum foil or bake for 15-20 minutes at 350.

Toss Lettuce with Feta, Tomatoes, Cucumbers and Dressing. Top with Tilapia and serve.

Tilapia over Greek Salad with Marinated Cucumbers