Lettuce, Feta and Garlic Salad

I grew up in a house were garlic was sacrilegious! O.K. I exaggerate....I was well into adulthood (or at least my late teens) when I first tasted garlic. Imagine that??? And I fell in love with it. My father detested garlic on the grounds it smelt...on his last visit late one evening we were sitting on the stone steps outside the monument in beautiful Lodhi Gardens...and he suddenly turned around & asked me if I had garlic for lunch?? Funnily enough he used to rave about a garlic bread in this restaurant in California which I hope to discover some day...here's a recipe that Suja taught me which is finger licking yummy but wouldn't advise you to make/have it on a first date or before a business meeting!!

* 3-4 cloves garlic (more if you are feeling daring)
* 1/3 cup Feta
* 1 tsp olive oil or a generous splash
* 1-2 tbsp water
* Lettuce leaves washed and dried
* 1 pear in thin slivers

1. In a pestle and mortar pound the garlic cloves till they are a fine paste.
2. Add the feta & oil and mix. Works best if you are not queasy about using your hands instead of a spoon.
3. Add water to make it smooth and mushy (not runny).
4. Smear the dressing on the lettuce leaves and arrange on the salad plate
5. Smear pear with the dressing and pile on the lettuce