Mixing raw ingredients for a salad doesn’t really require a recipe. But it is worth reviewing which ingredients are really part of the tradition of the famous Greek Salad, which are optional… and which are better to do without.
The Greek salad served in almost any Greek taverna has:
- A large tomato cut into rather large chunks.
- About a third of a cucumber cut into thick crescents, with the skin partially peeled.
- Half a small red onion, or a quarter of a large one, julienne cut.
- Half a green pepper, also julienned.
- Black olives, preferably Kalamata type.
- Some pieces of Feta cheese, like half a package, which is usually 250 gr.
- Extra virgin olive oil, preferably of the Kalamata or Koroneiki type, generously, and oregano.
- Salt and pepper to taste.
The proportions are approximate and are estimated for one person.
Normally, the vegetables are cut, mixed and dressed in a bowl, the cheese is served on top, oregano and a little more olive oil are added on top of it, and the olives on the sides.
In some Greek islands it may happen that capers or a kind of croutons of local dry bread are added, the latter is very good when it is made from carob, a specialty on the island of Crete for example. There is no reason to complicate and try to improve an already magnificent salad. Especially, you don’t need to add lettuce. Neither hard-boiled egg, the main protein component must be the feta cheese.
As for the dressing, a good Greek extra virgin olive oil is enough, but otherwise, a vinaigrette can be previously prepared with extra virgin olive oil, a little lemon juice or vinegar, salt, pepper and even honey. In Greece the vegetables have a very intense flavor, I often made this salad without even adding any extra salt.
By the way, in Turkey there is a similar salad called „of the shepherd“ (Çoban salatasi), in which the red onion can be replaced by spring onion and the green bell pepper by a longer Italian type.
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