Greek Village Salad

Horiatiki ~ Authentic Greek Salad

Now here’s a recipe anyone can create! With the right ingredients, you and your salad will shine like a sunset over the Aegean Sea. Americans have recreated this amazing recipe in many ways. And, unfortunately, what we have done has taken away from the Athenian essence of this salad. It is simple and straight forward, seasonal produce, briny olives, Greek feta, a splash of Greek olive oil and dash of oregano and sea salt. No lettuce, no vinaigrette, no mixing (a gentle toss will do) or chopping feta. Big Chunks, Big Flavor and plenty of vegetable juice and olive oil to mop up with fresh bread. It’s this special vegetable juice (tomato broth) mixed with the rich fruity Greek olive oil that makes the most beautiful dressing.

The authentic Greek Salad is the Mediterranean cousin to the Italian caprese salad. Simple local ingredients, drizzled with loveliness, and sprinkled with delicate seasonings. It is served on a platter or in a shallow bowl. Put the large salad bowl back in the cupboard. And, the best part, you create the salad in your serving dish – can’t get much easier than that!

Course First Course, Salad

Cuisine Greek

Keyword cucumbers, feta, salad, Tomatoes

Ingredients

1 ½ pounds Fresh Tomatoes large chunks
½ teaspoon Sea Salt
1 large Cucumber or English Cucumber large chunks
1 cup Green Peppers large chunks, about ½ pepper
½ cup Red Onion slivered, about ¼ of an onion
1 ½ tablespoon Greek Olive Oil
½ teaspoon Sea Salt
¾ cup Kalamata Olives pitted
1 wedge Greek Feta 7 ounces
1 teaspoon Dried Oregano
1 ½ tablespoons Greek Olive Oil

Instructions

Tomato

With a sharp paring knife, core the tomatoes.
Working over your serving dish, cut the tomato into 8 wedges. Let the juices drip into your dish.
Cut each wedge into 3-4 chunks.
Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of salt. Lightly toss the tomatoes. Set to the side for 15-30 minutes.

Cucumber

Cut the cucumber into ½ inch slices. Halve each slice.
Place on top of the tomatoes.

Green Pepper

Remove stem. Cut the pepper in half and remove the seeds and rib. Cut into large chunks.
Place on top of cucumbers.

Red Onion

Cut top off and quarter.
Cut into thin slices.
Halve the thin slices.
Place on top of green peppers. Drizzle with 1 ½ tablespoons and ½ teaspoon of salt. Toss lightly.
Top salad with Kalamata olives and wedge of feta cheese. Drizzle an additional 1 ½ tablespoons of olive oil and sprinkle with a teaspoon of dried oregano.

Notes

Note:
When tomatoes are out of season there’s still no reason to not make this flavor packed salad. Cherry, Grape or On the Vine Tomatoes will have more flavor than their larger counterparts. If you can find Campari Tomatoes, they are a very sweet hydroponic Italian tomato available in the colder months. To bring out a little more sweetness in the winter I like to drizzle a little Sherry Vinegar over the salad. A couple teaspoons should give you that bit of sweetness and acidity that winter tomatoes are lacking.