Greek salad with feta cheese

How to make a Greek salad . The difference between a good salad recipe and a bad one is without a doubt the ingredients, the higher the quality, the better.

For this Greek salad we have chosen seasonal ingredients, among them some tomatoes with all their flavor that represent a point of difference. But we have not forgotten that the cucumber, the pepper and its red onion as a base, to finish with a vinaigrette with lemon, freshly ground black pepper, salt, oregano and a good olive oil. And finally, with that Greek touch, feta cheese and some black olives that give it its characteristic flavor.

As in a free-range salad or the famous Waldorf salad , the freshness and quality of the ingredients is the differentiating point. This original Greek salad is made from juicy ripening tomatoes, tasty cucumbers and crisp bell peppers. In each house, as in most salads, each one makes it in a way, to their liking.

Some add capers, lime, or some Kalamata olives. I’ve even seen it with lettuce or dill instead of oregano, as an accompaniment to grilled salmon or with pieces of roasted chicken. The one I present today, perfect for summer, but sure, fabulous for the whole year, is the most traditional. The one served by chef and friend Julio Miralles in his restaurant, El Pradal, near where I live, in San Sebastián de los Reyes.

A fresh salad, full of color and flavor and where tomato and feta cheese are the protagonists. Do not miss it, explained step by step with video. Ideal recipe to eat it in summer, refreshing, light and very healthy. What are you waiting for?

Preparation of a Greek salad

1. The key to this salad in addition to the ingredients is the cut. It is not necessary to cut or as fine as the Arabs usually chop, nor very thick. Tomato wedges, diced cucumbers and thin julienne strips of onion would be ideal.
2. We will start by cleaning well all the vegetables that we are going to use. We cut the tomatoes into quarters or segments. If you want the salad a little finer you can peel the tomatoes. Although they are “the real ones”, pure season, they will be better without skin, less annoying at mealtime.
3. The onion peeled in half and julienned (in thin strips). You can put it in very cold water, so that it loses strength but stays crisp. We put everything in a bowl.
4. We peel the cucumber as indicated in the video and that Julio does in such an original way. Cut into quarters lengthwise and then into pieces, add to the bowl. We will cut the peppers into thin strips and then into squares, we also add them to the bowl.
5. We will finish adding the pitted olives, the chopped coriander and the cheese in small cubes. Greek olives of the Kalamata variety are their own, but they are a bit expensive and hard to find. You can substitute it for black olives or a crushed olive that is not very bitter and it will surely be just as good. Mix well in the bowl and prepare the vinaigrette.

Preparation of the vinaigrette with lemon and presentation

For the  vinaigrette sauce  the proportions will depend on the taste of each one, the type of oil, lemon or lime and ingredients used can change the intensity of the flavor.

1. In a pot add a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper. We add the extra virgin olive oil, the lemon or lime juice and the oregano. We close the boat.
2. We shake vigorously until everything is tied. We reserve.
3. Once the vinaigrette is made, we must add it to the end of everything. Season to taste and with your hands we put all the ingredients and the vinaigrette together, remember that the Greek salad should go to the fridge already dressed and mixed. If we kept it without dressing, the ingredients would be parched.
4. To serve we put our salad in a platter or individual dishes, at home.

We leave it in the fridge for a little while and we already have our perfect Greek salad to eat, one of the most famous dishes of the summer.

We can even serve it on top of bread toast spread with a little garlic. And at the time of serving we can add a little more oregano on top. Do not stop preparing it.