- How to Make a Greek Salad

Category: Mediterranean Diet, Greek Recipe,

Greek Salad recipe in Greece is very different than its American or Europe counterpart. Made with ripe tomatoes, chunks of cucumber, small peppers, onions, juicy kalamata olives and feta cheese drizzled with nothing more than intense Greek extra virgin olive oil, fresh lemon juice and chopped fresh oregano; no lettuce required.

Before goat cheese became ubiquitous, popping up in everything from soup to nuts, there was feta, most of it sprinkled over Greek Salad recipes. Feta, made from sheep’s milk, may not have the cachet of goat cheese, but it certainly packs plenty of flavor; in fact, some goat cheeses seem namby-pamby by comparison. The great thing about Greek Salad recipes is that the vegetarian dishes appeal to everyone.

The food is fresh (tomatoes plucked right from the vine, fish taken right off the boat), and the warm sun peeking through a grape arbor overhead along with the fresh smell of the sea add to the ambience.

To celebrate the sun and summer, put together a menu of Greek Salad recipes perfect for gatherings of small to big-sized proportions. You can make them all and serve them at once – following the Greek style of dining – or you can be selective and make just a few.

Do what is called a Village Salad in Greece, which is making up a salad of just what is available. Sometimes it’s oil on a single vegetable, sometimes it’s feta cheese, onion, olives, capers, or it could be radishes. Greeks favor vegetables as well as greens and herbs in Greek Salad recipe, and they eat lots of them (35 to 45 little dishes). It’s a lot of small, different flavored things instead of one big.

Follow that with a Greek village salad. Salads in Greece rarely contain lettuce. A typical Greek Salad recipe might consist of sliced cucumber, sliced tomatoes, olives, onion, chunks of feta or kasseri cheese, and a simple dressing of olive oil, vinegar or lemon juice, and herbs (use 1 part vinegar to 3 parts extra virgin olive oil). Like the culture, the Greek Salad recipe has timeless appeal.

That’s “timeless” in two senses: For the modern cook with little time to spare it means there are no last-minute flourishes – often things are made days ahead.

Greek cooks have mastered the making of alluring dishes that are good lukewarm or even at room temperature. It’s an ideal cuisine for buffets, for many items are finger-food size.

In addition, the unchanging nature of such Greek Salad recipes has worked to preserve historic delicacies and ancient traditions.

It’s traditional, for instance, for a ceremony to accompany some food preparation.

There are certain other traditional flavors that pervade Greek Salad recipe, as well.

The lemon, for instance. Setren uses lemon in seasoning meats, sprinkling the juice on lamb and chicken pieces. Cinnamon, too, runs like a fragrant thread through much of such food preparation, especially meat dishes and baked goods.

The secret to good Greek Salad recipe lies in the flavorings – lots of extra virgin olive oil, along with lemon, basil, oregano and garlic – combined with simple ingredients such as chicken, fish and potatoes.

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