Vaso's Greek Salad (Horiatiki)

Beginner Cook - Short Cooking Time - Salad - Vegan Option - Vegetarian - Gluten-Free

There are numerous interpretations of the popular Greek salad. This specific recipe is my mother-in-law's and one that I love. What amazes me is that even though I grew up eating this type of salad, it took me five years to figure out how to recreate this specific recipe. Five years!! What I learned along the way is that even the smallest detail matters. First, the specific variety of each ingredient will change the outcome. As a result, I have been as prescriptive as possible in the ingredient list. Second, the sequence with which you combine the ingredients is just as important. It impacts how your palate interprets the different flavors and can make the difference between a "good" and a "that was awesome" salad. Needless to say, I was ecstatic when I finally figured out this second point. And now it's documented for all to enjoy!

Ingredients

• 2 beefsteak tomatoes
  
• 1 large cucumber
  
• 1 green bell pepper
  
• 1 round of red onion
  
• 2-3 ounces sheep's milk feta (optional)
  
• 8 kalamata olives
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
  
• 1/4 teaspoon dried Greek oregano
  
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Time - 10 minutes

• Preparation - 10 minutes
  
• Cooking - 0 minutes

Preparation

• Wash and cut the tomatoes into large chunks, taking care to remove the inner-stem potion of the tomato

• Place the tomatoes in a medium size bowl

• Wash, peel, and cut off the ends of the cucumber
• Cut the cucumber in half lengthwise and slice each half

• Place the cucumber slices in the bowl on top of the tomatoes

• Wash the pepper, cut the stem, and remove the seeds from the inside of the pepper
• Cut the pepper in four and cut each quarter into strips

• Place the pepper in the bowl on top of the cucumber

• Cut one round of red onion and cut the round in half

• Separate the onion layers from the round and place in the bowl on top of the pepper

• Pour the olive oil over the salad and sprinkle the salt and oregano on the top
• If adding feta, place large chunks of feta on top of the salad

• If adding olives, distribute the olives on top of the salad
• Growing up we always mixed the salad prior to serving. While this can be done, it isn't necessary. Instead, the bowl is placed in the center of the table with a large spoon. The motion of spooning the salad onto each person's plate mixes the ingredients. This approach also keeps the feta separate from the salad, which is appreciated by those who prefer to skip the feta. Those who do wish to have some feta simply break off a piece with their fork from the large chunks on top of the salad