The authentic Greek village salad — tomatoes, cucumber, olives, and a thick slab of feta, no lettuce.
Horiatiki, meaning village salad, is the real Greek salad — no lettuce, no vinegar-heavy dressing, just ripe tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, olives, and a full slab of feta on top, dressed simply with olive oil and oregano. It's a dish that depends entirely on the quality of its handful of ingredients. The feta is not crumbled but left whole, drizzled with olive oil and oregano, so it's broken apart at the table rather than mixed through. This keeps its texture intact and makes for a more dramatic presentation than the crumbled versions common outside Greece.
Serves 4
Combine tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, and green pepper in a wide, shallow bowl or platter.
Scatter Kalamata olives over the vegetables.
Place the whole block of feta on top of the salad rather than crumbling it in.
Keeping the feta whole is what separates a true horiatiki from a chopped Greek salad.
Drizzle everything generously with olive oil, sprinkle with oregano and salt, focusing extra oregano on the feta.
Serve at room temperature with crusty bread, breaking the feta apart at the table.
Use the ripest, most flavorful tomatoes available — this salad has nowhere to hide mediocre produce.
Buy feta in brine, not pre-crumbled, for the best texture and flavor.
Skip vinegar entirely; the acidity from ripe tomatoes and good olive oil is all this salad needs.
Add capers for extra brininess, common in some regional versions.
Include a few slices of green Italian frying pepper for a milder, sweeter pepper flavor.
Serve alongside grilled fish or souvlaki as part of a full Greek meal.
Best eaten fresh the day it's made; the vegetables release water and lose their crunch if stored overnight.
Horiatiki, literally village salad, developed in Greek rural households as a simple way to showcase garden vegetables at their peak; it became internationally known simply as Greek salad, though the authentic version notably omits lettuce.
Traditional horiatiki relies on ripe tomatoes, cucumber, and other vegetables rather than lettuce, which isn't part of the classic village recipe.
You can, but a whole block on top is more traditional and keeps the cheese from becoming watery when mixed into the vegetables.
Vine-ripened, in-season tomatoes give the best flavor; avoid pale, underripe supermarket tomatoes if possible.
Per serving (280g / 9.9 oz) · 4 servings total
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