Classic Greek Horiatiki Salad

About This Recipe

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.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 4ripe tomatoes(cut into wedges)
• 1cucumber(sliced into thick rounds)
• 0.5red onion(thinly sliced)
• 1green bell pepper(sliced into rings)
• 0.5 cupKalamata olives
• 200 gfeta(kept whole in a block)
• 0.33 cupextra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tbspdried oregano
• 0.5 tspfine sea salt

Instructions

1. 1

   Arrange the vegetables

   Combine tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, and green pepper in a wide, shallow bowl or platter.

2. 2

   Add olives

   Scatter Kalamata olives over the vegetables.

3. 3

   Top with feta

   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.

4. 4

   Season and dress

   Drizzle everything generously with olive oil, sprinkle with oregano and salt, focusing extra oregano on the feta.

5. 5

   Serve immediately

   Serve at room temperature with crusty bread, breaking the feta apart at the table.

Variations

• •

  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.

Storage

Best eaten fresh the day it's made; the vegetables release water and lose their crunch if stored overnight.

Frequently Asked Questions