Is Greek salad a culinary cliché or a gastronomic classic? This unpretentious dish is loved by many, but not everyone knows the correct and only correct way to prepare it.
The Greeks themselves call the Greek salad "hooryatiki", which translates as "rustic". Indeed: all the ingredients are chopped coarsely and seemingly carelessly. Nothing to do with haute cuisine. When it comes to ingredients and serving, Greeks have a negative attitude towards any variation. They adhere to only one correct recipe.
Ingredients for a classic Greek salad
- Tomatoes
- Medium cucumber
- Greek olives
- Small onion
- 1 piece of feta cheese
- Olive oil
- Oregano
- Red wine vinegar
- Salt
Method for preparing Greek salad
- Cut the tomatoes into wedges (do not cut into cubes).
- Peel the cucumber and cut into slices, you can also cut the slices in half.
- Cut the onion into thin rings.
- Place all vegetables in a deep bowl, mix, add whole olives.
- Put a large piece of feta cheese on top without chopping it.
- Pour a little olive oil and wine vinegar over the salad, you can add salt, but feta cheese already gives the salad the necessary taste
- Sprinkle the whole salad with oregano
The secret of a delicious Greek salad is the high quality of ingredients: ripe tomatoes, juicy olives, oregano that has not lost its aroma and real feta.
Do's and Don'ts for Greek Salad
The Greeks themselves allow the addition of green pepper to the salad. You can also skip wine vinegar. But breaking feta with a fork, adding red pepper, lettuce or Chinese cabbage, according to the classic recipe, is impossible. At the end of your meal, you can take a slice of bread and dip it in the remaining mixture of olive oil, tomato juice and feta crumbs - the pleasure is guaranteed.
