Tempeh Greek Salad

     I bought some tempeh after reading about it and seeing several recipes that listed it as an ingredient recently.  I have never attempted to make tempeh before or even tried it for that matter.  I happened to be leafing through my recipe binder yesterday, looking for some inspiration and found I recipe I had pulled from June's Cooking Light magazine.  This recipe was for wraps but since I don't have any wraps in the house, I plan to eat this as a salad for lunch this week.

Tempeh Greek Salad

Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil, divided
1 8 oz package of tempeh, but into 24 pieces
1 cup water
3 tbsp lemon juice, divided
2 tbsp plain Greek yogurt
1 tsp dried Italian seasoning
1 tsp grated lemon rind
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp salt
1 garlic clove, minced
3 cups of lettuce
2/3 cup of cherry tomatoes
2/3 cup slice cucumber
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup kalamata olive, halved

Method
1. Heat a skillet oven medium-high heat.  Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil before tossing in the tempeh.  Saute the tempeh for about 4 minutes, turning once.  Add 1 cup of water and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice.  Reduce the heat to medium and let the mixture simmer for 10 minutes.  Again, turn it only once.
2. Combine 2 tablespoons of yogurt, 1 tsp Italian seasoning, lemon rind, paprika, salt, and garlic in a small bowl.
3. Combine remaining olive oil, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, feta, and olives in a large bowl.
4. Top the salad with tempeh and a dab of the yogurt sauce.  Season with black pepper to taste.

The Taste Test 
     So after my first taste I didn't think I was going to be a fan of tempeh.  The texture was much more dense than tofu.  But mixed with the salad today, it was pretty good.   It filled me up and the heaviness of the tempeh was nicely contrasted by the salad.  I think I will have to experiment with this new ingredient a bit more.