Greek Village Salad Recipe

Greek Village Salad, or Horiatiki, is sunshine in a bowl: ripe tomatoes, crisp cucumber, red onion, olives, and a generous slab of salty feta, all dressed with good olive oil and oregano. There is no lettuce, and that is the point. Serve it with crusty bread to mop up the glorious juices at the bottom of the bowl.

Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

0 mins

Total time

20 mins

Servings

4 servings

Calories

280

Ingredients

• 4 large ripe tomatoes, cut into chunky wedges
• 1 large cucumber, halved and sliced
• 1 red onion, thinly sliced into half-moons
• 150 g Kalamata olives
• 200 g feta cheese, in one block or crumbled
• 1 green bell pepper, deseeded and sliced (optional)
• 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• Crusty bread, to serve

Instructions

1. Place the tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, and bell pepper, if using, in a large, shallow serving bowl.
2. Scatter over the Kalamata olives and season lightly with salt and pepper, remembering the feta will add saltiness.
3. Whisk the olive oil and red wine vinegar together, then drizzle the dressing evenly over the vegetables.
4. Lay the feta block on top or crumble it over the salad, then sprinkle generously with dried oregano.
5. Toss very gently once or twice so the feta keeps its shape and the juices start to gather.
6. Let the salad rest for 10 minutes so the flavours mingle, then serve with crusty bread for scooping up the dressing.

Pro tips

• Use the ripest tomatoes you can find; this salad has nowhere for a bland tomato to hide.
• Add the salt sparingly at first, since feta and olives already bring plenty of saltiness.
• A good, fruity extra virgin olive oil makes a real difference in such a simple dressing.
• Serve it at room temperature, never fridge-cold, for the fullest flavour.

Frequently asked questions