The salad that I accompany eighty percent of my dinner meals with, is a Horiatiki salad (Χωριάτικη Σαλάτα) or Greek salad as it is called outside of Greece.

Horiatiki means "in the peasant manner" and it denotes the rustic character of the salad with its roughly chopped, colorful vegetables glistening under the rich coating of Greek extra virgin olive oil.

For me, there is no other salad that can even compare to Horiatiki in freshness, vibrancy, combination of flavors and utter simplicity which is, ultimately, the main characteristic of all traditional Greek food.

This is principally a summer salad, since its main ingredients—tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers—are at their prime during the summer months but I can honestly tell you that there isn't one day during the whole year that's not a good Horiatiki salad day for me.

In Greece, there isn't a single person (I hope) that doesn't know how to prepare this salad. Unfortunately, I can't say the same thing for the rest of the world. I have never been to a Greek restaurant or taverna outside of Greece that serves a proper Horiatiki salad. They always tend to bastardize it with whatever ingredients they think "fit" with it. I get so annoyed by that.

Horiatiki is made with a number of specific ingredients. It is not a collection of random vegetables and herbs. It is not, "let's put anything in there that is remotely reminiscent of Greece or what is believed to be used by Greeks even if it's not".

Don't get me wrong. I'm all for experimenting and trying new things, adding or subtracting ingredients from a recipe to make it your own or suit your particular tastes but, when it comes to certain recipes and traditional Greek cooking in particular, then I'm a stickler for authenticity.

So, let me set things straight.
Ingredients that should never, ever, under no circumstances, even if you once ate it like this somewhere in Greece, be included in a Horiatiki salad:
—Lettuce or leafy greens of any kind
—Parsley
—Mint
—Lemon juice
—Fresh oregano
—Yellow or red bell peppers
—Crumbled cheese
—Croutons

Ingredients that should be included in a real Horiatiki salad:
—Tomatoes. The freshest, juiciest, ripest tomatoes you can possibly find, cut into wedges.
—Cucumber. Long, fresh, chilled, peeled, sliced.
—Green bell peppers. The thinner-skinned you can find, the better. Cut into rings.
—Red onion. Strong, pungent, cut into rings.
—Olives. Pit still in. Plump, juicy, shiny, Greek Kalamata olives. Some people add throubes (a wrinkly type of black Greek olive) or even green Greek olives. Be my guest. I can be flexible, see?
—Feta. Greek feta (is there anything else?), hard, salty, creamy and in one large piece.
—Oregano. Greek, always dried and lots of it.
—Olive oil. Greek, extra virgin. My friends from other parts of the Mediterranean will have to excuse me when I say this but, Greek is the best.
—Red wine vinegar. A must. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
You retain the right to make whatever kind of salad you want with whatever ingredients you want but it won't be a Horiatiki (Greek) salad. It will be something else.

What you must always have on hand when you're eating this salad is bread. A big loaf of rustic, hard-crusted bread.
A typically Greek thing to do when you're eating a Horiatiki is a "papara". Papara is to dunk a small piece of bread into the oil, vinegar and vegetable juices that have accumulated at the bottom of the salad bowl, allow the bread to soak up all the juices that it can hold, being careful not to break it up, and then eat it.
Papara is something you do when you're sharing a meal with friends or family and not when you're at a business lunch. Outside of Greece it is considered a bit rude but I think it's the best thing in the world. You haven't eaten a Horiatiki salad properly if you haven't made a papara.
If you want to be more "courteous" though, you can put a small piece of bread on your fork and dip it into the salad juices instead of holding the bread with your hand. Not the same thing but, eh, what can you do?
Horiatiki Salata (Greek Salad / Peasant Salad)
It would be ideal if you could find Greek dried oregano, Greek red-wine vinegar and good quality Greek extra virgin olive oil to use in your Horiatiki but your salad won't be less flavorful if the ingredients you use aren't Greek.
This salad can either accompany your main meal or it can be enjoyed as your main meal. It can easily become a vegetarian dish or suitable for Lent by omitting the feta.
Always prepare Horiatiki salad right before serving it and since it doesn't keep well in the fridge (it gets soggy really quickly), make sure you prepare no more than you need.

Yield: 2 main-meal servings or 6 salad servings
Ingredients
4-5 vine-ripened tomatoes, about 350 g, cut into wedges
½ large cucumber, peeled and sliced
½ large green bell pepper, cut into rings
½ large red onion, cut into rings
10-12 Kalamata olives
200 g Greek feta, in one or two large pieces
1 ½ Tbsp red-wine vinegar
4-6 Tbsp Greek extra virgin olive oil
1 ½ tsp Greek dried oregano
Sea salt, to taste
Preparation
Toss together the tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, onion and salt in a bowl and then transfer them to a medium-sized salad bowl.
Add the olives and the feta on top and sprinkle with the dried oregano.
Pour the vinegar all over the salad and then drizzle the olive oil all over the ingredients.
Serve immediately along with lots of crusty bread.


Horiatiki means "in the peasant manner" and it denotes the rustic character of the salad with its roughly chopped, colorful vegetables glistening under the rich coating of Greek extra virgin olive oil.

For me, there is no other salad that can even compare to Horiatiki in freshness, vibrancy, combination of flavors and utter simplicity which is, ultimately, the main characteristic of all traditional Greek food.

This is principally a summer salad, since its main ingredients—tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers—are at their prime during the summer months but I can honestly tell you that there isn't one day during the whole year that's not a good Horiatiki salad day for me.

In Greece, there isn't a single person (I hope) that doesn't know how to prepare this salad. Unfortunately, I can't say the same thing for the rest of the world. I have never been to a Greek restaurant or taverna outside of Greece that serves a proper Horiatiki salad. They always tend to bastardize it with whatever ingredients they think "fit" with it. I get so annoyed by that.

Horiatiki is made with a number of specific ingredients. It is not a collection of random vegetables and herbs. It is not, "let's put anything in there that is remotely reminiscent of Greece or what is believed to be used by Greeks even if it's not".

Don't get me wrong. I'm all for experimenting and trying new things, adding or subtracting ingredients from a recipe to make it your own or suit your particular tastes but, when it comes to certain recipes and traditional Greek cooking in particular, then I'm a stickler for authenticity.

So, let me set things straight.
Ingredients that should never, ever, under no circumstances, even if you once ate it like this somewhere in Greece, be included in a Horiatiki salad:
—Lettuce or leafy greens of any kind
—Parsley
—Mint
—Lemon juice
—Fresh oregano
—Yellow or red bell peppers
—Crumbled cheese
—Croutons

Ingredients that should be included in a real Horiatiki salad:
—Tomatoes. The freshest, juiciest, ripest tomatoes you can possibly find, cut into wedges.
—Cucumber. Long, fresh, chilled, peeled, sliced.
—Green bell peppers. The thinner-skinned you can find, the better. Cut into rings.
—Red onion. Strong, pungent, cut into rings.
—Olives. Pit still in. Plump, juicy, shiny, Greek Kalamata olives. Some people add throubes (a wrinkly type of black Greek olive) or even green Greek olives. Be my guest. I can be flexible, see?
—Feta. Greek feta (is there anything else?), hard, salty, creamy and in one large piece.
—Oregano. Greek, always dried and lots of it.
—Olive oil. Greek, extra virgin. My friends from other parts of the Mediterranean will have to excuse me when I say this but, Greek is the best.
—Red wine vinegar. A must. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
You retain the right to make whatever kind of salad you want with whatever ingredients you want but it won't be a Horiatiki (Greek) salad. It will be something else.

What you must always have on hand when you're eating this salad is bread. A big loaf of rustic, hard-crusted bread.
A typically Greek thing to do when you're eating a Horiatiki is a "papara". Papara is to dunk a small piece of bread into the oil, vinegar and vegetable juices that have accumulated at the bottom of the salad bowl, allow the bread to soak up all the juices that it can hold, being careful not to break it up, and then eat it.
Papara is something you do when you're sharing a meal with friends or family and not when you're at a business lunch. Outside of Greece it is considered a bit rude but I think it's the best thing in the world. You haven't eaten a Horiatiki salad properly if you haven't made a papara.
If you want to be more "courteous" though, you can put a small piece of bread on your fork and dip it into the salad juices instead of holding the bread with your hand. Not the same thing but, eh, what can you do?
Horiatiki Salata (Greek Salad / Peasant Salad)
It would be ideal if you could find Greek dried oregano, Greek red-wine vinegar and good quality Greek extra virgin olive oil to use in your Horiatiki but your salad won't be less flavorful if the ingredients you use aren't Greek.
This salad can either accompany your main meal or it can be enjoyed as your main meal. It can easily become a vegetarian dish or suitable for Lent by omitting the feta.
Always prepare Horiatiki salad right before serving it and since it doesn't keep well in the fridge (it gets soggy really quickly), make sure you prepare no more than you need.

Yield: 2 main-meal servings or 6 salad servings
Ingredients
4-5 vine-ripened tomatoes, about 350 g, cut into wedges
½ large cucumber, peeled and sliced
½ large green bell pepper, cut into rings
½ large red onion, cut into rings
10-12 Kalamata olives
200 g Greek feta, in one or two large pieces
1 ½ Tbsp red-wine vinegar
4-6 Tbsp Greek extra virgin olive oil
1 ½ tsp Greek dried oregano
Sea salt, to taste
Preparation
Toss together the tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, onion and salt in a bowl and then transfer them to a medium-sized salad bowl.
Add the olives and the feta on top and sprinkle with the dried oregano.
Pour the vinegar all over the salad and then drizzle the olive oil all over the ingredients.
Serve immediately along with lots of crusty bread.

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