Greek salad: ingredients, history, interesting facts. Greek salad, classic recipe (5 step-by-step unusual recipes for Greek salad). Cooking secrets What is included in Greek salad

Brilliantly simple! These are the words that can describe a Greek salad prepared according to a classic recipe.
Preparing a Greek salad is incredibly quick and easy, and the ingredients for the salad are the most common and accessible to everyone.
But what is the secret of Greek salad?! And I will tell you his secret! It is contained in juicy, ripe and aromatic seasonal vegetables, which are used to prepare the salad and in perfectly selected ingredients and proportions. Vegetables for Greek salad are cut into fairly large pieces.
And you can easily prepare Greek salad at home, thanks to step-by-step photos, subtleties and secrets that I generously share with you on the pages of our website. And believe me, your Greek salad will turn out tastier than in a restaurant!
Let's start cooking!
And admit it, how many of you are Greek salad lovers and do you often prepare this salad at home or do you prefer to order it in a restaurant?
Also, you may like the “Shopski” salad, which is similar in composition, but slightly different in preparation technology. - this salad is not of Greek, but of Bulgarian origin, but it also turns out to be incredibly tasty and is easy to prepare. It differs from Greek in that the peppers for Shopska salad are baked, and thanks to this, the salad turns out with a very interesting taste.

Ingredients

tomatoes	3 pcs
cucumbers (small)	2-3 pcs
red sweet salad onions (can be replaced with onions)	0.5-1 pcs
bell pepper (green or yellow)	1 PC
olives (b/c)	2-3 tbsp.
cheese or feta	100-150 g
olive oil	2 tbsp.
red wine vinegar (can be replaced with lemon juice)	2 tbsp.
oregano (dried)
salt
freshly ground pepper

When we asked our friends, who have been coming to Greece on holiday from different parts of the world for many years in a row, what attracts them to this country, they answered with a smile: “Clean sea, gentle sun, always fresh seafood, delicious wine, Greek hospitality, and, of course, the most delicious Greek salad in the world..."

Indeed, in the catalogs of the world's best restaurants, along with the most exquisite dishes, Greek salad occupies not the last place.

Greek salad, in its homeland usually called “horiatiki” - rustic, got its name due to the fact that its components: onions, olives, sweet green peppers, as well as cucumbers, tomatoes and olive oil - these are those simple and familiar products that which the Greek peasants ate.

It all started with tomatoes

However, tomatoes, as well as the salad itself, appeared on the Greek table relatively recently.

It is known that tomatoes were brought to Europe by Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century, and they came to Greece only in 1818 along with potatoes.

They were brought to Greece by wandering Catholic monks. At first, tomatoes were grown as ornamental plants to decorate monastic lands - their fruits were considered poisonous. And only since 1825 they began to cultivate for food in almost all regions of the country.

At first, tomatoes were mistaken for exotic fruits. The Greeks ate tomatoes the way they were used to eating fruits: biting off pieces from the whole fruit, eating them with bread and cheese.

However, vegetables, even such as onions, were not cut - they were also consumed whole. Fortunately, the pale purple onions were sweet and fragrant.

The history of salad

As a separate dish, salad appeared thanks to one curious incident.

In 1909, a Greek economic emigrant who had worked for many years in America in a weaving factory went to his home village for his nephew's wedding.

In a foreign land, he was very homesick for his homeland, Greek olives, olive oil, unique cheese, and ripe vegetables that were grown in his village.

On the way home he got a toothache. At home, the damned tooth started to hurt. My sister advised me to rinse it with ouzo, aniseed vodka. The acute pain gradually subsided.

It was dinner time. The sister gathered for the table: bread, olives, cheese, some vegetables. But the tooth kept aching and did not allow me to bite vegetables, as was customary.

Then a smart man found a way out - without thinking twice, he crumbled all the food into pieces into a clay bowl, added a handful of olives to it, put a large piece of Feta on top, poured it with rustic olive oil, and began to gobble it up with great pleasure.

My sister also tried the new dish, and she really liked it. She decided to surprise the neighbors and serve it at the wedding table. The salad was appreciated!

Since then, village salad has become a favorite and main dish of Greek cuisine.

Cheese for Greek salad

If tomato is the king of Greek salad, then feta is the queen.

If you don't put Feta cheese in the salad, it will be a regular vegetable salad. It is Feta that gives the rustic salad a unique flavor, a kind of Greek charm.

Real Feta is made only in Greece in a special way from a mixture of 70% sheep and 30% goat milk. Feta goes through a very complex and long process of production and subsequent processing, developed over centuries.

Homer, in his poem “The Odyssey,” says that the Cyclops Polyphemus was the first cheese maker, which, according to the descriptions of the ancient Greek poet, was very similar to Feta.

The specific aroma of Greek Feta is the aroma of herbs that feed sheep and goats grazing in the meadows of Macedonia, Thrace, Epirus, Thessaly, Central Greece, the Peloponnese, and the islands of Lesbos and Crete.

And only in these, and in no other areas of Greece, is this wonderful product prepared.

Feta has a spicy taste that cannot be confused with any other - tart, slightly salty, with a slight hint of sourness.

It belongs to the soft varieties of light cheeses. When cutting cheese into pieces, it should not crumble and leave no marks on the surface of the knife.

Feta contains no more than 43% fat and 56% moisture.

The color of Feta should be white, like Pendelian marble.

For all these undeniable advantages, the cheese was given the brand “Feta”, and no other white cheeses made outside of Greece can be called that.

Here she is, the Greek queen of Feta cheeses, and she occupies a royal place in the Greek salad - at its very top!

Calorie content, benefits and some statistics

Greek salad is popular not only in Greece itself, but also far beyond its borders.

When asked by the famous catering company Grub Hub Seamless: “What is the favorite dish for American lunch clerks?” over twenty-five thousand restaurants and fast foods across America gave the answer: “Greek Salad.”

And to the question: “Why do customers give such preference to Greek salad, and not the same classic vegetable green salad made from lettuce?”, it was explained that Greek salad contains a larger amount of complete proteins, fats and vitamins, and contains a more diverse quality ingredients and amazing taste.

In Greece there is no tavern, restaurant, or snack bar where Khoriatiki is not served.

It goes well with any meat, fish or seafood dishes served on the table.

It can also be an excellent independent snack with any wine or other stronger drink.

The calorie content of salad in Greek and Russian sources is not the same: a serving of 200 grams is estimated by the Greeks at 415 kcal, while Russian cooks estimate only 320 kcal.

A 100-gram serving of classic Greek salad with Feta cheese contains:

• proteins – 4.6 g;
• fats – 3.8 g;
• carbohydrates – 4 g;
• glycemic index – 30.

The Guinness record was set by residents of the town of Ierapetra, in Crete, who prepared the world's largest portion of Greek salad from seven tons of tomatoes, three tons of cucumbers, two tons of peppers and one ton of onions. The salad took 800 kg of Feta and 500 liters of olive oil!

Greek salad dressing: composition, recipe

The unique taste of this dish is determined not only by the composition and quality of the products included in it, but also by the set of ingredients used for dressing.

The basis of the sauce for Greek salad is good quality olive oil, preferably cold pressed.

In Greek cuisine, other types of base are rarely used, preferring to season all vegetable dishes with olive oil rather than mayonnaise or similar sauces.

Firstly, because olive oil contains a unique flavor and aromatic bouquet.

Secondly, entire treatises have been written about the benefits of olive oil, starting from the time of Hippocrates and ending with the latest scientific research in the field of nutrition and medicine.

In the taverns of Greece, the classic village salad is seasoned with either a mixture of olive oil, lemon and herbs - oregano (oregano), in Greek - “rigani”, and thyme - “fimari”, sometimes parsley is also added.

Or, leaving the same base, add high-quality wine or balsamic vinegar. It all depends on the taste preferences of the chef preparing the salad.

It is advisable to make the dressing in advance so that it infuses and acquires the taste and aroma of spices.

So, for dressing for a real Greek salad we will need:

• good quality olive oil, preferably cold pressed (5-6 tablespoons);
• one medium-sized lemon, or wine or balsamic vinegar (0.5-1 tablespoon to taste);
• oregano or thyme.

Mix the oil, lemon juice and aromatic herbs, whisking all the ingredients with a pastry whisk.

Leave the dressing to infuse and start preparing the dish.

Classic Greek salad recipe: ingredients, how to prepare

To prepare Khoriatiki, as it is prepared by housewives in Greece, we need to have the following products:

• four medium-sized tomatoes (not soft and unripe);
• one large or two medium cucumbers;
• one or two large sweet peppers;
• one head of onion, preferably sweet, pale purple in color;
• Greek Feta cheese – 100-150 grams;
• some “kalamon” olives – 6-8 pieces;
• capers – 50 grams.

Now, attention! Step-by-step guide to proper preparation:

The main secret is that all vegetables are cut into large pieces and laid in layers.

1. Wash the vegetables and dry them with a paper towel.
2. We peel the cucumbers and cut them into circles of medium thickness - this will be the first layer of our salad.
3. Then cut the sweet green pepper into half rings and place on top of the cucumbers.
4. First cut the tomatoes into two halves, peel the stems from the halves, then cut them in half again and lay them in an even layer.
5. Cut the onions into thin half rings, rinse them in cold water, squeeze them and place them on top of the tomatoes.
6. Capers and olives are placed on top as a decorative element of the salad.
7. We fill everything with a dressing of olive oil, oregano and lemon juice; it has already infused and acquired a specific aroma that will favorably emphasize the taste of fresh vegetables.
8. Do not stir or add salt to the salad before serving. Top the dish with a piece of Feta, pour olive oil on top and sprinkle with oregano.

Salad ready. Pepper, salt and mix before the salad is placed on plates, immediately before eating.
Kali orexy! Bon appetit!

Greetings, dear readers! Today I'll show you how to make a classic Greek salad with an easy step-by-step recipe. It will not only decorate the holiday table, but will also turn out to be very nutritious and tasty! The fragrant and bright dish is considered a storehouse of vitamins and reminds of the onset of summer. In order for it not to disappoint you, you need to thoroughly study the cooking method. Know what kind of cheese goes into the salad, what the finished dish is seasoned with, what vegetables are included in the classic recipe and what ingredients you can use to diversify the composition.

We will prepare for 4 servings.

Video recipe

The benefits of salad

1. Iceberg and Romano (Romaine) lettuce leaves contain folic acid, which is involved in the synthesis of happiness hormones - endorphins.
2. Olive oil contains natural antioxidants and vitamin E; it is useful to use it to prevent obesity, diabetes, diseases of the cardiovascular system and pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract.
3. Olives cleanse the liver and improve its functions.
4. Basil is considered a natural antiseptic and also has a positive effect on the nervous system.
5. Feta cheese contains a number of beneficial microorganisms that fight pathogens and improve the digestion process.

1. Choose only fresh vegetables.
2. Do not add spices in large quantities.
3. You can season not only with olive oil, but also with other vegetable oil, lemon juice or vinegar.
4. For added spice, add garlic, pepper, salt and onion, whipped in a mixer, before serving.
5. To add flavor, I recommend adding finely chopped fresh herbs to the dish. It could be mint, parsley, basil, celery or dill. You can also use dried herbs - oregano, rosemary or thyme.
6. Be sure to mix the ingredients well.
7. If you use cooked vegetables, be careful not to overcook them.
8. To prevent vegetables from losing color, do not add salt while cooking them.
9. Traditional ingredients go well with anchovies and capers.
10. I recommend pre-marinating the onions.
11. Replace feta cheese with salted cheese or Dutch cheese.
12. If you don't have lemon in the house, use pink grape vinegar.

5 variations

• From squid

A light and tasty dish that can replace a dense and high-calorie dinner. Squid meat contains a minimum of fat and no cholesterol, so it is well absorbed by the body and can be included in the children's diet. To prepare it at home, you will need peeled squid, sweet peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce. For dressing you need to take olive oil, oregano, garlic, a mixture of peppers and salt. To make the dish look fresh, do not chop the lettuce leaves with a knife, but simply tear them with your hands. You can sprinkle finely chopped herbs and thin strips of lemon zest on top.

• With chicken and avocado

An incredibly tasty and nutritious dish that includes everything you need for a hearty dinner. To prepare, take chicken fillet, avocado, green onions, tomatoes, olives, lemon juice, feta cheese, dried oregano, dried mint and Romaine lettuce. Poultry meat can be baked or fried in olive oil. Use whole sprigs of parsley for garnish.

• With yogurt dressing

This option is useful to include in the diet for those who care about their figure. To prepare, take Romano lettuce, feta cheese, prepared shrimp, cucumbers, tomatoes, lemon juice, garlic and yogurt. You can serve immediately, but it is better to let the dish sit for 30-40 minutes in the refrigerator.

• With tofu

Helps lower blood cholesterol and contains few calories, so it will appeal to vegetarians and raw foodists. For cooking we use fresh cucumbers, tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, tofu cheese, and olives. We prepare the sauce according to the classic recipe.

• With Chinese cabbage

A simple, tasty and healthy dish. It has all the classic ingredients, but the kale adds brightness, volume and crunch. I recommend chopping it, but not too finely, and chopping the onion coarsely, but thinly. To remove bitterness, be sure to scald it.

Conclusion

Today we learned how to properly prepare a very tasty Greek salad and what to season it with. In Greek restaurants, it is customary to serve it in a deep plate, without sliced ​​cheese. Place the feta piece directly on the vegetable slices. The sauce is served separately for each serving. If you season a dish immediately after cooking, it cannot be stored for a long time. The dressing can be made not only from classic ingredients, but also experimented with mustard, honey, balsamic vinegar, and garlic. Instead of olive oil, I like to use corn oil and sesame oil.

The most important thing about a Greek salad is the fresh ingredients, not the cutting or serving. The Greeks usually cut their salad into large pieces, and put the olives right with the pit, and the Greek olives have a buttery taste. The main herb in the salad is oregano and a little basil is added.

Cucumbers, shallots, and olive oil are often used in the salad. In general, various tricks and variations are allowed here. After all, Greek salad is a simple version of country salad, made from the most basic ingredients found in every country house.

Often, instead of shallots, recipes use sweet salad onions or even regular onions. Olive oil can be replaced with sunflower oil. It is better to take pitted olives. If you don’t have oregano and basil, you can replace them with simple lettuce leaves or any fresh herbs from the garden - the main thing is that it will be a summer and light salad.

An important ingredient, feta cheese, can be found everywhere today, but in extreme cases it can be replaced with Adyghe cheese, feta cheese.

Greek salad according to the classic recipe

Ingredients:

• cucumber - 2 pcs.;
• bell pepper - 1 pc.;
• tomato with dense pulp - 2 pcs.;
• medium-sized Crimean blue onion - 1 pc.;
• olives, large and pitted - 20 pcs.;
• olive oil - 2-3 tbsp. l.;
• feta cheese - 80-100 gr.;
• oregano - ½ tsp. dry grass;
• lemon juice - 1-1.5 tbsp. l.;
• salt, pepper - to taste.

Cooking process

Wash all vegetables. Cut cucumbers and tomatoes into large pieces (2-2.5 cm). Cucumbers can be peeled first if the peel is too hard.

Chop the blue onion into half rings. Peel the peppers from seeds and white membranes, cut into 2-2.5 cm squares. Olives can be left whole or cut in half.

Place the vegetables in a salad bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste. Mix everything carefully with two large spatulas.

Beat olive oil with lemon juice, add oregano to it, slightly rubbing the herb with your fingers. Season the salad with the resulting sauce.

Cut feta cheese into large pieces, similar to vegetables, and place on top of the salad. Throw a pinch of oregano on top. Salad ready.

It is allowed to replace part of the onion with garlic in the salad, but the cloves will have to be chopped into small cubes with a knife.

Options for preparing ingredients for Greek salad

Onion

Onions for Greek salad

Onions can be pre-marinated before adding to the salad. The easiest way is to chop the onion and pour it with a mixture of vinegar (3 parts) and sugar (2 parts) with a pinch of salt. Let stand for half an hour, drain in a colander and add to other vegetables.

To reduce bitterness, you can cut the onion smaller or mix two varieties - white and blue onions in the desired proportion of 1:2 or 1:1.

cucumbers

Cucumbers for Greek salad

Cucumbers can be cut figuratively or, for example, alternating pieces with the peel removed and with the peel left. The zebra cucumber looks beautiful in a salad when every piece in the salad looks white and green.

Tomatoes

Tomatoes for Greek salad

With tomatoes, it is better to experiment not with cutting, but with a combination of different varieties and colors. Cherry tomatoes look great in a salad. They need to be cut in half. The colors combine red and orange fruits well. It looks impressive, and besides, rich and low-acid orange tomatoes will add meatiness to the salad, reducing the sourness. If desired, you can even peel the tomatoes by scalding them with boiling water.

Pepper

Pepper for Greek salad

A multi-color option is also suitable with pepper. In this case, it is better to cut fruits of different colors into thin strips rather than into cubes. For those who like to experiment, there is an unusual idea: peel the vegetable with a sharp knife or peeler. This option is for those who want to add sublimity and a delicate taste to the dish; it is also perfect for serving Greek salad on a holiday table.

How to replace feta cheese

Typically in Russian cuisine, feta cheese is replaced with salted feta cheese; a product made from goat's milk is especially suitable.

As a last resort, you can take large pieces of processed cheese with a strong flavor of herbs or smoked meats. In this case, the salad needs a little more salt.

Another option for Greek salad is with Dutch cheese. You just need to make the pieces smaller. This recipe is no longer a classic, but it may well appeal, especially to men.

How to dress a Greek salad

A classic Greek salad is dressed with a mixture of lemon juice, olive oil and fresh or dried oregano. But if for some reason you cannot find these components or you want to diversify the taste of your favorite dish, the option of mixing other seasonings and herbs is allowed. For example, you can add coarsely torn lettuce leaves of different varieties (curly, iceberg) and chopped wild garlic strips to the dish. According to your taste, you can include thyme and parsley in the dish.

For housewives who love experiments, as a bold idea, you can suggest seasoning a portion of Greek salad with honey-mustard sauce.

Honey mustard sauce: an unusual and tasty dressing option

Take medium or mild mustard (can be with grains), honey and olive oil in a ratio of 1:1:2. Mix everything and beat with a whisk. If the sauce is too thick, add more oil. Serve with salad in a separate sauce boat.

You can also vary the dressing for Greek salad by adding other oils (mustard, corn, sesame), bread crumbs or toasted salted croutons for flavor. Those who like a strong taste can add garlic to the sauce, passed through a garlic press.

If you used lightly salted cheese for your salad, such as feta cheese or Dutch cheese, try using a dressing recipe with soy sauce, which is traditionally salty and rich.

Ingredients:

• olive oil - 2 tbsp. spoons;
• soy sauce - 1 tbsp. spoon;
• apple cider vinegar - 1 tbsp. spoon;
• mustard (medium or low heat) - 1 teaspoon.

To prepare the sauce, whisk all ingredients. Serve the dressing separately in a gravy boat.

Greek salad with oregano, dill and mint: step-by-step recipe

Ingredients:

• cucumber - 2 pcs.;
• cherry tomatoes - 300 gr.;
• sweet yellow pepper - 1 pc.;
• handfuls of black olives;
• mint leaves - to taste;
• wine vinegar (can be replaced with apple cider vinegar) - 1 tbsp. l.;
• vegetable oil - 3 tbsp. l.;
• oregano - 1 tsp;
• salt - to taste;
• salad onion - 1 head;
• dill and lettuce - to taste;
• feta cheese - 200-300 g.

Cooking process

Wash all vegetables and dry off excess water. Cut the cucumbers into medium pieces. Cut cherry tomatoes in half or into 4 parts. Place cucumbers and tomatoes in a deep dish.

Cut the pepper into large strips. It is advisable to use yellow peppers so that the colors in the dish blend beautifully.

Add pepper to cucumbers and tomatoes. Cut the onion into thin half rings and separate into thin strips. Add to the dish, mix everything carefully.

Finely chop mint leaves, dill and other greens and add to the total mixture in the dish. Season the salad with salt and pepper, add olives or black olives, mix everything.

Making salad dressing

Pour 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil (or other vegetable) into a deep bowl and add a teaspoon of wine vinegar to it. Stir and add half a teaspoon of oregano. Mix everything thoroughly.

Season the salad with the prepared dressing, leaving a little, a little more than a teaspoon. Mix the salad.

Place lettuce leaves on a serving dish and place half of the total mass of vegetables from the bowl on them. Distribute the salad evenly throughout the dish.

Cut the cheese into cubes the size of the olives. Place some of the cheese in a cup with the remaining dressing and roll the cheese in it, so the pieces will not stick together. Plus, these pieces look beautiful.

Carefully place the cheese with some of the dressing on a plate with half of the salad. Place the other half of the vegetable mass on top of the cheese. Carefully level everything out. Place the remaining cheese in the bowl where the salad was, add a spoonful of olive oil, sprinkle oregano on top and mix everything.

Place the cheese and oregano into the salad and spread it over the surface. Sprinkle a little oregano on top of the entire mound of salad. In total, the entire salad will use about 1 teaspoon of oregano. Serve the Greek salad.

You can decorate the salad with a mint leaf.

Tricks and options for serving Greek salad

The portioned serving of salad, practiced in restaurants in Greece, is interesting. It is extremely laconic: the client receives a deep plate of vegetables without sliced ​​cheese. All the cheese lies in one piece on top of the vegetable slices. Thus, the client himself decides how he will eat it.

Likewise, the sauce is now almost always served in a separate container for each serving. So everyone will determine for themselves how much and when they need to add dressing to the Greek salad.

This is very convenient for the housewife. As long as the salad is not seasoned with sauce, it keeps better. You can chop the vegetables a few hours before the guests arrive, and pour the sauce over them before serving. Moreover, if possible, the salad should be dressed after serving portions, so that guests do not have to worry about putting salad on their plates and distributing the sauce.

Sometimes very large pieces of vegetables and cheese are mixed in a salad without much stirring. Many people don’t like serving in large pieces, but it has its advantages: those who don’t like onions or olives can easily remove them.