Greek Style Salad
How did the combining of tomatoes, red onion, bell peppers, and cucumber along with some Kalamata olives and feta cheese come to be known as “Greek Salad”?
What in particular makes this salad Greek? Do people in Greece really eat this salad?
Yes, people in Greece do eat this style of salad and it is not designated to any particular region. There are a couple of rules associated with this refreshing often called ‘village’ or ‘peasant’ salad such as no lettuce is ever to be tossed into the ingredient lineup.
Most importantly, traditional Greek Salad must be served with a large chunk or block of feta on top. Tossed feta crumbles and cubed feta cheese means no “Greek Salad”.
The Greek Salad feta rule came about, according to Greece is.com as a means to get around government set pricing on what the standard price of a simple salad should cost.
Plunking a large wedge of feta cheese on top of a fresh government cost adjusted simple salad changed up the game odds thus enabling restaurants to charge whatever they wanted. Greek Salad was no longer deemed a common simple salad.
Still, with fresh bell peppers, tomatoes, and cucumbers now being at the height of summer season, combining Kalamata olives and feta cheese into the flavor mix just seems … well, perfectly Greek.
Many people might not feel the need or desire to eat a big ole wedge of feta cheese on top of their fresh summer salads. But if you’re feeling Greek Salad and are alternatively using feta crumbles or cubes sprinkled about your colorful mix just remember to add the word ‘Style’ in between your description. Greek Style Salad.
Greek Style Salad
Ingredients
- 1 red and 1 green bell pepper, seeded, chopped into small bite sized pieces
- 1/2 red onion, cut into half moon slices
- 3 ripe campari tomatoes, cut into eighth wedges
- 1 long seedless cucumber, halved lengthwise then each halve cut lengthwise and then into quarter inch pieces
- handful of garbanzo beans. lightly salted
- 12 pitted kalamata olives, halved
- 1 cup Feta cheese, cut into small cubes, plus some crumbled garnish finished salad
- a pinch or two coarse kosher salt plus black pepper to taste once salad is combined
- For the dressing:
- pinch sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon oregano
- couple pinches coarse kosher salt
- few grinds, cracked black pepper
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/8 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Into a glass bowl toss together the peppers, onion, tomatoes, cucumber,garbanzo beans and kalamata olives
- Whisk together the dressing
- Pour dressing over the vegetables, stir through, check seasoning adjusting salt and pepper to desired taste
- Plate salad
- Add in feta cubes then garnish salad with some extra crumbled feta
6 Comments