Greek Salad (Horiatiki)

Name: Greek Salad (Horiatiki)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 25 min
Cuisine: Greece
Ingredients: 600 g (1⅓ lb) ripe tomatoes, cut into irregular chunks; 3 g (½ tsp) fine sea salt; 1 cucumber, about 300 g, partly peeled in stripes, halved and cut into thick half-moons; 1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced into rings; ½ red onion, thinly sliced; 80 g (½ cup) Kalamata olives, pits in or out; 1 tbsp capers, optional, rinsed; 1 tbsp red wine vinegar; 80 ml (⅓ cup) extra-virgin olive oil; 200 g (7 oz) Greek feta, one slab; 1 tsp dried oregano, Greek if possible; black pepper

Ripe tomatoes, cucumber, onion, olives and a slab of feta — no lettuce

Serves: 4
Hands-on: 15 min
Total: 25 min
Level: Easy

The village salad of Greece has no lettuce and no fuss: chunks of ripe tomato, cucumber and onion, briny olives, and a whole slab of feta on top, dressed with olive oil and oregano. Salting the tomatoes briefly makes the juices that become the best part — the dressing you mop up with bread.

Ingredients

600 gripe tomatoes (1⅓ lb)cut into irregular chunks
3 gfine sea salt (½ tsp)
1cucumberabout 300 g, partly peeled in stripes, halved and cut into thick half-moons
1green bell pepperthinly sliced into rings
½red onionthinly sliced
80 gKalamata olives (½ cup)pits in or out
1 tbspcapersoptional, rinsed
1 tbspred wine vinegar
80 mlextra-virgin olive oil (⅓ cup)
200 gGreek feta (7 oz)one slab
1 tspdried oreganoGreek if possible
black pepper

Diet: Vegetarian, Gluten-free
Allergens: milk, sulphites
Origin: Greece
Season: Summer

Method

Put the tomatoes in a wide shallow bowl and sprinkle with the salt. Leave 10 minutes to draw out the juices. 10 min
Meanwhile, soak the onion slices in cold water for 5 minutes to soften their bite, then drain well. 5 min
Add the cucumber, pepper, onion, olives and capers to the tomatoes. Drizzle with the vinegar and two-thirds of the oil and toss gently.
Set the feta on top in one piece. Pour the remaining oil over the feta, crumble the oregano between your fingers over everything, and add a few grinds of pepper.
Serve right away, with bread for the juices; everyone breaks off feta as they eat.

Why it works

Salt draws water and flavor out of tomato cells, creating a seasoned juice that mixes with the oil and vinegar into a natural dressing. Soaking raw onion rinses away some of the sulfur compounds that make it harsh, leaving crunch and sweetness. Feta kept in a slab stays creamy instead of dissolving into a salty film over everything.

Common mistakes

Using hard winter tomatoes: this salad is for summer. Out of season, use cherry tomatoes, halved.
Crumbling the feta into everything: it oversalts the salad and loses its texture.
Refrigerating it: cold kills tomato flavor. Serve at room temperature.