Greek Salad

Name: Greek Salad
Prep time: 20 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 2
Ingredients: Cluster tomatoes about 2 8.8 oz; Cherry tomatoes 4; Feta cheese 7.1 oz; Fresh scallion 1; Red onions 1; Cucumbers 2; Black Greek olives Kalamata type 8; White wine vinegar to taste; Extra virgin olive oil to taste; Black pepper to taste; Oregano dry, wild to taste; Caper leaves in brine to taste

Difficulty: Very easy
Prep time: 20 min
Serving: 2 persone
Cost: Low
Note + the marinating time for the olives (about 2 hours)

PRESENTATION

Recipe by
Vasiliki Pierrakea

Greek salad is so famous that it lends its name to many other dishes made with some of the key ingredients of this dish, such as Greek quinoa salad or Greek omelette! But what are these iconic elements? Generally, they are tomatoes, feta, olives (Greek, of course!), onions, and cucumbers. In reality, there is no codified recipe for Greek salad; it can vary depending on the local products available to each family in each village. We turned to the professional touch of Vasiliki Pierrakea, owner of "Vasiliki Kouzina," who has passionately brought the essence of Hellenic cuisine to Milan. Thanks to her experience and her family's culinary history, we will learn the secrets behind a very simple, yet rich, incredibly genuine salad, also ideal as a main dish. Fresh, light, and nutritious, Greek salad is a classic summer dish, perfect to enjoy by the sea... we paired it with Cretan dakos, similar to our friselle, for an even more authentic result!

Try these typical Greek recipes as well:

Moussaka
Pork Souvlaki
Spanakopita
Baked Feta

INGREDIENTS: Cluster tomatoes 8.8 oz (250 g) - about 2; Cherry tomatoes 4; Feta cheese 7.1 oz (200 g); Fresh scallion 1; Red onions 1; Cucumbers 2; Black Greek olives 8 - Kalamata type; White wine vinegar to taste; Extra virgin olive oil to taste; Black pepper to taste; Oregano to taste - dry, wild; Caper leaves in brine to taste

Preparation

How to prepare Greek Salad

To make the Greek salad, start with the Kalamata olives: score each olive into 3 parts with the tip of a knife 1, then season with oil 2 and a pinch of salt 3.

Add the vinegar 4 and massage with your hands, then let marinate at room temperature for 2-3 hours; this will soften the flavor of the olives 5. In the meantime, cut the feta into cubes 6 and prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Divide the cucumber lengthwise without peeling it 7, then remove the seeds 8 and slice it 9.

Slice the vine tomatoes 10 and quarter the cherry tomatoes 11. Clean and chop the red onion into pieces 12.

Finally, slice the white part of the scallion 13. You are ready to plate: arrange the cherry tomatoes in a circle at the bottom of the plate 14, then place the cucumbers in the middle 15.

Add some scallion and red onion 16, the vine tomatoes 17, then more scallion and onion 18.

Add some feta cubes 19 and the olives 20, then finish by crumbling the remaining feta. Season with oil and pepper to taste 21.

Fragrance with oregano 22 and garnish with a few caper leaves 23. Your Greek salad is ready to be served 24!

How to store

It is recommended to consume the Greek salad as soon as it is ready.

Tips

It is not necessary to add salt because the feta is already quite salty.

It is preferable to remove the seeds from the cucumbers; otherwise, the final result would be too watery. For the same reason, it is better not to use too many tomatoes!

The vegetables can be cut thinner or thicker, depending on your tastes.

The olives can be marinated for a longer time (if you have time!), otherwise, a couple of hours will be enough to soften their flavor.

Curiosity

The Greek name for this typical salad is horiatiki, which comes from horio (village): it is indeed a dish closely tied to the local products, such as oil and oregano, which can vary from village to village!

For the translation of some texts, artificial intelligence tools may have been used.