How to make Greek Salad

The appetizer, for which the name “Greek salad” has stuck in Russia, is called “village salad” in Greece itself. But here it is so popular that the locals say that it is impossible to recognize Greece without recognizing the taste of this dish. So the name of his salad of tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet peppers, olives and cheese fully justifies. In our country, this dish is popular almost as much as in the one after which it is named. However, not all housewives do it right, because of which the appearance and taste of the dish suffer. Adhering to traditional technology, you get a tasty, juicy and healthy snack. It will take quite a bit of time.

Cooking Features

Knowing a few secrets will allow you to make a Greek salad as tasty and appetizing as it is made in Greece.

• In Greece, this salad is not accidentally called a village: for its preparation they use fresh vegetables grown in the garden. If you have the opportunity to use vegetables from your own vegetable garden or to buy ground vegetables, give preference to them.
• Vegetables for Greek salad are cut large, and in no case are they peeled. This applies even to cucumbers with coarse skin.
• Olives for Greek salad are suitable without stones (and without filling).
• Onions before adding to Greek salad, it is advisable to pre-marinate or at least pour boiling water to remove excess bitterness. Beautifully look in the salad rings of red onions. Taking out of the marinade, it is better not to press them, so as not to spoil the beautiful shape.
• In Greece, they use feta for making rustic salad, it can be replaced with similar cheese or cheese, while realizing that the taste of cheese depends on the taste of the finished dish.
• Condiments are surely added to Greek salad. If you care about authenticity, use oregano. Otherwise, seasoning can be replaced with basil or other herbs.
• Balsamic vinegar or lemon juice mixed with olive oil is used for salad dressing. It is not customary to regret oil in Greece. Replace the olive product other vegetable oil will not work. The quality of this ingredient also matters.
• Do not mix ingredients with cheese, lay it on top. Otherwise, it will crumble or crush, due to which the appetizer will lose its aesthetic appearance. Cheese cubes are laid out on top of vegetables, after which the salad is poured over the sauce and wait a while for the products to soak.

Serve Greek salad in a large salad bowl or on a plate, as well as portions. When serving in portions, the cheese may not be cut into cubes, but put on top of a large layer. Greek women do just that.

Classic Greek Salad Recipe

Composition:

• cucumbers - 0, 4 kg;
• tomatoes - 0, 4 kg;
• feta cheese - 0, 25 kg;
• sweet pepper - 0, 2 kg;
• red onion - 150 g;
• lemon - 1 pc .;
• pitted olives - 150 g;
• olive oil - 50 ml;
• salt, oregano - to taste.

Method of preparation:

• Wash vegetables. Blot with a napkin.
• Squeeze out the juice from half a lemon, mix it with half a glass of boiling water and a pinch of salt. You can add a pinch of sugar.
• Free from onions peel, cut into rings or half rings, depending on the size of the onions. Dip in a container with hot marinade for 5 minutes.
• In tomatoes, cut a seal around the stem. Cut the tips of the cucumbers. Remove the seeds from the pepper while removing the stalk.
• Cut tomatoes into slices or large cubes. Cut the cucumbers into large cubic pieces. Pepper cut into squares of medium size.
• Fold the vegetables into a large bowl, add olives and prepared onions to them. Stir gently. Experienced chefs advise you to do it with your hands, because when stirring with a spoon, vegetables can be mashed.
• Cheese cut into large pieces of arbitrary, but the same shape.
• Put the vegetables in a salad bowl, top with slices of cheese.
• Sprinkle with oregano.
• From the remaining lemon squeeze juice, mix with olive oil.
• Sprinkle the salad with the resulting sauce.

Something like this is the recipe for a village salad, which is most often prepared in Greece. This recipe is considered a classic, although some other options of snacks are also entitled to be so called.

Greek salad with lettuce and balsamic vinegar

Composition:

• Bulgarian pepper - 0, 4 kg;
• cherry tomatoes - 0, 25 kg;
• cucumbers - 0, 25 kg;
• olives - 0, 2 kg;
• leaf lettuce - 100 g;
• red onion - 150 g;
• fresh basil - 10-20 g;
• feta or similar cheese - 0, 2 kg;
• balsamic vinegar - 5 ml;
• oregano - to taste;
• olive oil - 100 ml.

Method of preparation:

• Peel the onions, cut into half rings. Pour with boiling water. After 3 minutes, transfer to a sieve, let dry.
• Wash the salad, dry it, pick it up with your hands and put it on a large platter.
• Pepper wash. Remove the stalk, remove the seeds. Cut not too thin quarters of rings.
• Tomatoes, washed and dried, divide with a knife into 2 parts.
• Wash cucumbers, blot with a napkin. Cut into cubes.
• Spread tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, peppers and olives on lettuce leaves so that they are evenly distributed, but would look laid randomly.
• In a small container, mix balsamic vinegar, oil and oregano. Water the vegetables, consuming 2/3 of the dressing.
• Cheese cut into large cubes, spread on vegetables. Pour the remaining sauce.
• Decorate the appetizer with basil sprigs.

Many consider this recipe to be classic, although it is more in keeping with the spirit of Italian cuisine. However, the Greek woman is also preparing such a snack, so there is no big mistake here.

Greek salad with feta cheese and garlic

Composition:

• cucumbers - 0, 5 kg;
• tomatoes - 0, 3 kg;
• olives - 130 g;
• white onion - 100 g;
• lemon - 0, 5 pcs .;
• cheese - 0, 2 kg;
• sweet pepper - 0, 2 kg;
• garlic - 1 clove;
• leaf lettuce - 100 g;
• olive oil - 80 ml;
• dried basil, rosemary and thyme - on a pinch;
• ground black pepper, salt to taste.

Method of preparation:

• Wash cucumbers, dry with a napkin. Cut off the tips. Cut into cubes of 1, 5-2 cm.
• Wash the tomatoes. Wet them with a napkin, cut it in half. Cut dense flesh around the stalk. Cut the rest in the same pieces as the cucumbers, put with them in one bowl.
• Peel the Bulgarian pepper from the seeds, cut it into cubes. Add to cucumbers and tomatoes.
• Cut the onion into quarters of rings, send it to a bowl of vegetables.
• Chop the garlic into very small pieces, place in a separate container of small volume.
• Add spices to garlic. Salt is not necessary, because salty cheese itself.
• Squeeze lemon juice into seasonings. Add to them the oil, leaving a spoon, mix.
• Stir the vegetables, adding olives.
• Lay clean lettuce leaves on a plate.
• Put the vegetable mixture on them.
• Pour the sauce over it.
• Cut the cheese into cubes of the same size as the vegetables. Spread the cheese pieces on the vegetables. Pour the remaining oil.

The recipe for this salad has been influenced by Caucasian cuisine. It will be even more noticeable if chopped nuts are added to the sauce. Snack, prepared according to the recipe, has a spicy taste. In the classic version, it turns out to be softer and more delicate in taste.

Greek salad with Chinese cabbage

Composition:

• Peking cabbage - 0, 2 kg;
• pickled cheese - 0, 2 kg;
• tomatoes - 0.5 kg;
• cucumbers - 0, 5 kg;
• onions - 100 g;
• pitted olives - to taste (at least 120 g);
• garlic - 1 clove;
• Italian herbs - 5 g;
• apple cider vinegar (6%) - 5 ml;
• olive oil - 100 ml;
• lemon juice (optional) - to taste.

Method of preparation:

• Peking cabbage divided into leaves, rinse them well, dry with a napkin. Each sheet is cut lengthwise into 2-3 pieces, then cut across the pieces with a thickness of about 1, 5 cm. Fold into a large bowl or pan.
• Remove onions from the onion, cut it into quarters of rings. If desired, marinate in lemon juice mixed with hot boiled water.
• Wash and dry the remaining vegetables with a kitchen towel. After removing the coarse pieces, cut them into medium pieces of approximately the same shape and size, straighten to cabbage.
• Squeeze the onions, put to the rest of the ingredients.
• Open the jar of olives, drain the liquid from it. Pour olives into a container with other products.
• Mix oil with vinegar, passed through a press garlic, Italian herbs.
• Pour the sauce into a container of vegetables, mix them carefully.
• Put the appetizer in a large salad bowl or arrange it on separate plates if you are going to serve it in portions.
• Cut the cheese into cubes or small plates. Put it on vegetables.

This version of Greek salad is the most democratic and adapted to the realities of life in our country. It gives the chef an opportunity for creativity, allowing you to replace the ingredients with other, similar in appearance and taste. Some cooks even put boiled chicken breast in this salad, sliced ​​in the same slices as vegetables. Poultry meat is pre-fried or boiled until cooked. This makes the snack more satisfying, but at the same time it remains not too high in calories.

Video: Greek salad from Greece