Bright, Fresh Village-Style Greek Salad
When warm weather hits, nothing is quite as satisfying — or easy to prepare — as a good, old-fashioned Greek salad. This village-style salad is a favourite at our house because it is delicious and holds up beautifully on a buffet table.
My best friend in grade school was Greek. I used to love going to her house after school, because her grandmother, Yiayia, lived with her. While Yiayia didn’t speak a word of English, her authentic Greek dishes, prepared and served with love, spoke volumes.
Yiayia grew up in Syros, a small Greek island near Mykonos. Her authentic home cooking burst with simple, hearty flavours, and no meal was ever complete without a plate of tangy feta for good digestion.
Sadly, my best friend and I now live thousands of miles apart. However, I still crave Yiayia’s delicious, authentic home cooking and try, occasionally, to recreate a simple dish or two for my own children.
This salad is a perfect example. With this recipe, I have tried to faithfully recreate the flavours I remember in Yiayia’s delicious salads. So, I’m excited to to share it with you.
About the Recipe
This simple Greek salad recipe yields a crisp, lettuce-free salad with bold, bright flavours. Tossing the cucumbers, onions and vinaigrette ahead of time allows the flavours time to blend before serving.
Seeding the cucumbers and tomatoes may seem like a cumbersome step. However, if done properly, it only takes a moment and it’s 100% worth it. Removing the vegetable seeds and pulp saves you from winding up with a watery, bland mess. So, please don’t get tempted to skip this critical step.
Lots of people object to the flavour of raw onions. I happen to love them, and they are an authentic part of this salad. However, if you have a family of onion haters on your hands, feel free to leave them out. I’ve tried it, and the salad is still delicious.
I hope your family enjoys this crunchy, authentic Greek salad as much as mine does. Bon appétit!
Bright, Fresh Village-Style Greek Salad
Ingredients
For the vinaigrette
- 1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1/2 lemon, juice of
- 1 tablespoon minced, fresh oregano leaves (or 1 teaspoon dried oregano)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt;freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 garlic clove, pressed (or finely minced)
- 6 tablespoons olive oil
For the salad
- 1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced
- 3 medium cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and thinly sliced
- 6 tomatoes, cored, seeded and cut into 12 wedges
- 200 g feta cheese, crumbled (about 1 cup)
- 3/4 cup kalamata olives, pitted, and quartered lengthwise
Instructions
- Whisk the vinaigrette ingredients together in a medium bowl until combined and emulsified.;Add the sliced cucumbers and the onions to the vinaigrette. Toss to combine and set aside for about 20 minutes.;At serving time, add the tomatoes to the bowl and toss.;Arrange tomatoes, cucumbers, onions and vinaigrette on a serving platter. Top with the crumbled feta and the black olives. Serve immediately.