Greek salad or horiatiki (village salad) is a popular salad in Greek cuisine generally made with pieces of tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, feta cheese (usually served as a slice on top of the other ingredients), and olives (typically Kalamata olives) and dressed with salt, pepper, Greek oregano, and olive oil. It is often imagined to be a farmer’s lunch as ingredients are simple and wholesome.
Common additions have included green bell pepper slices or caper berries.
There have been a number of controversies surrounding the humble salad in the past. For instance, in Detroit, Greek salad may have beetroot, while in the Tampa Bay Area potatoes are added.
Herbs and seasonings added in other countries around the world are rarely encountered in Greece.
In 1925, an Australian newspaper described a Greek salad of boiled squash dressed in sour milk, whereas an 1934 article in an American newspaper described the Greek salad as a mayonnaise-dressed lettuce salad with shredded cabbage and carrots.
Here is how to make an authentic Greek salad.
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INGREDIENTS
250g cherry tomatoes, halved, or full tomatoes sliced
1 large diced cucumber
1 small red onion, chopped
1 small red capsicum, chopped
1/2 cup kalamata olives
100g feta
lemon
2 tbpsn chopped fresh oregano leaves
olive oil
salt and pepper
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METHOD
1. Stir together the lemon juice, olive oil, oregano and salt and pepper.
2. Combine the other ingredients onto a large bowl and top with feta cheese. Drizzle with olive oil mixture.