Greek Salad Recipe

A shiny, recent, traditional Greek Salad recipe with a home made Greek Salad Dressing. Made correctly – which suggests no lettuce leaves and a easy, lovely purple wine vinegar dressing!

Greek Salad

Aussies love Greek Salad. If the native fish and chip store sells one recent salad, it’s in all probability a Greek Salad. That’s how a lot we adore it.

Do you know……Greek Salad as most individuals realize it (and the best way I make it) is not truly the real-deal genuine Greek approach. The best way the Greeks make it, feta is served in a block on prime of the salad relatively than chopped into cubes, and the salad is dressed with simply plain further virgin olive oil (Greek olive oil after all!), not a French dressing. I discovered on this once I noticed this Good Greek Salad from my good friend Helen at Scrummy Lane (who’s obsessive about all issues Greek).

Crucify me if you want, however I want Greek Salad made the extra frequent approach – with feta reduce into cubes (simpler to eat) and with a French dressing relatively than simply olive oil (I discover simply olive oil too wealthy). However I’ve little doubt that if (when!!!) I get to Greece, I will probably be transformed to the normal approach.

Although maybe I stray from the strictly genuine Greek salad, I’m a stickler for just a few different “guidelines” that I imagine in to make a traditional Greek Salad:

1. No lettuce – by all means, throw lettuce in in order for you, however a conventional Greek salad doesn’t have both lettuce in it;

2. Greatest produce you may get – after all it goes with out saying, particularly for easy recipes like this, please get the very best quality produce you possibly can afford; and

3. Plump juicy black Kalamata olives with a deep nearly black color – jarred is ok, however for those who go jarred, please get an excellent high quality one! I made a Greek salad whereas I used to be in LA in Could, and I made my good friend Meggan from Culinary Hill drive me to three grocery shops earlier than I lastly discovered olives I used to be proud of!! Not kidding! I lastly discovered these Delallo Kalamata Olives from Ralph’s. 🙂

Although this isn’t a strictly genuine Greek Salad recipe, it’s the approach it’s served at eating places in Western international locations.

Arguably one of many brightest and recent salads round, it additionally occurs to be one of many quickest to make as a result of there’s no tedious chopping – I really like that every part is reduce into large chunks!!

Greek Salad Recipe

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Serves: 4 Prep Time: 15 minutes

Nutrition facts: 334 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 5.0/5

( 1 voted )

Ingredients

• 3 tomatoes (size of a tennis ball)
• 4 Lebanese / Persian cucumbers (about 8″/20cm long)
• 1/2 small red onion (size of a tennis ball)
• 1 small green capsicum / bell pepper
• 8 oz / 250 g feta block
• 5.5 oz / 125g black kalamata olives (Note 2)
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 garlic clove , minced (about 1/2 tsp minced garlic)
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp salt (or 1/2 tsp Kosher salt)
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (preferably Greek!)

Instructions

1. Place Greek Salad Dressing ingredients in a jar and shake until well combined. Set aside for 20 minutes to let the flavours infuse.
2. Tomatoes: Cut each tomato into 6 wedges, then cut each wedge into 3 or 4 pieces. If the tomato is watery, scoop out the watery seeds inside with a teaspoon.
3. Cucumbers: Slice the cucumber into 1/2cm / 1/5″ thick slices. Or if they are thick cucumbers, slice the cucumber in half vertically, then slice.
4. Onion: Peel and finely slice the red onion. I keep it in rings – you could cut it in half then slice. (Note 2)
5. Capsicum: Cut into short strips.
6. Feta: Cut into 1cm / 2/5″ cubes.
7. Place the tomato, cucumber, onion, feta and olives in a bowl, sprinkle with oregano then pour over dressing. Toss to combine. Serve immediately!

Notes

1. Kalamata olives are the classic olives that go into a Greek salad. I personally like to use the ones with seeds inside them, I find it keeps the olives juicer. But you can use pitted if you want.
The blacker the olive, the better! Fresh black olives in olive oil purchased over the counter at delis are best, but otherwise, get a good quality olive pre packaged olives. Look for olives that look plump and are a dark black colour – you will notice that many in the jars have lost some of their colour.
When I was in LA, I drove my friend crazy going from store to store until I found olives I thought were good enough!! I finally found Delallo olives which are great quality pre packaged olives.
In Australia, good quality plump Kalamata olives can be purchased at all the main supermarkets.
2. If you don’t like the rawness of red onion (noting that red onion is not as sharp as other onions), place the sliced onions in a bowl of water for 15 minutes or so. This will soften the sharpness of the onion.
3. Nutrition per serving, assuming 5 servings. If you use low fat feta, it reduces a bit down to 300 calories per serving.