Greek Village Salad

A classic Greek village salad of ripe tomatoes, cucumber, peppers, red onion, olives and a block of feta dressed simply with olive oil and oregano.

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Horiatiki is intentionally simple: the quality of the vegetables, feta and olive oil matters more than complicated dressing. Traditional versions do not need lettuce.

Ingredients

• 4 ripe tomatoes (cut into wedges)
• 1 cucumber (thickly sliced)
• 1 green bell pepper (thinly sliced into rings)
• 0.5 red onion (thinly sliced)
• 100 g Kalamata olives
• 180 g feta cheese (kept as one slab or large pieces)
• 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar (optional)
• 1 tsp dried Greek oregano
• 0.5 tsp fine sea salt (or to taste)
• 0.25 tsp black pepper (freshly ground, optional)
• 1 tbsp capers (optional)

Step-by-step method

1. Choose tomatoes that are ripe but still firm. Cut them over the serving bowl so any juices are kept rather than lost on the chopping board.
2. Add the cucumber, green pepper and red onion. Sprinkle lightly with salt and toss gently so the tomato juices begin forming part of the dressing.
3. Add the Kalamata olives and capers if using. Avoid over-mixing because the vegetables should stay chunky rather than becoming bruised.
4. Drizzle with most of the olive oil and the red wine vinegar if using. Toss once or twice just to coat the vegetables.
5. Place the feta as a slab or a few large pieces on top of the salad rather than crumbling it finely through the bowl.
6. Sprinkle the feta and vegetables with oregano and black pepper, then drizzle over the remaining olive oil.
7. Leave the salad at room temperature for 5 minutes before serving so the tomato juices, olive oil and seasoning mingle. Serve with bread to soak up the dressing at the bottom of the bowl.