Name: Mainland Horiatiki Salata (Χωριάτικη)
Prep time: 15 min
Total time: 15 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Greek
Ingredients: 700g ripe summer tomatoes, cut into rough wedges; 250g cucumber, partly peeled and cut into thick half-moons; 120g green bell pepper, sliced into thin rings; 80g red onion, thinly sliced; 100g Kalamata or Throubes olives, whole; 200g Greek feta, in one slab; 60ml extra virgin Koroneiki olive oil; 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar, optional and regional; 1 teaspoon dried Greek oregano; 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more only if needed

Question 1

Does authentic Horiatiki salad have lettuce?

Accepted Answer

Authentic Horiatiki salad has no lettuce. Mainland Greek village salad uses ripe summer tomatoes, cucumber, green bell pepper, red onion, whole olives, a slab of Greek feta, dried Greek oregano, sea salt, and extra virgin olive oil.

Question 2

Why do you salt the tomatoes for Horiatiki salad?

Accepted Answer

Salt the ripe summer tomatoes for 5 minutes before adding the other vegetables. Fine sea salt pulls juice from the tomato wedges, and that tomato juice mixes with Koroneiki olive oil to create the only dressing Horiatiki salad needs.

Question 3

Should feta be crumbled or served as a slab in Greek village salad?

Accepted Answer

Serve Greek feta in one slab over the vegetables for Horiatiki salad. Do not crumble the feta through the bowl. Scatter dried Greek oregano over the feta slab and drizzle a little olive oil from the bottom of the bowl across the top.

Question 4

Is red wine vinegar traditional in Horiatiki salad?

Accepted Answer

Red wine vinegar is optional and regional in Horiatiki salad. Use 1 tablespoon if you want a sharper salad, or leave it out for the simplest version. The main dressing comes from ripe tomato juice, extra virgin Koroneiki olive oil, feta salt, and oregano.

Question 5

Can I make Horiatiki salad ahead of time?

Accepted Answer

Do not fully make Horiatiki salad ahead of time. Slice the red onion up to 2 hours ahead and refrigerate it covered, and wash and dry the vegetables earlier in the day. Cut and salt the tomatoes only just before serving.

Question 6

What are the best tomatoes for Horiatiki salad?

Accepted Answer

Use ripe summer tomatoes that feel heavy for their size and smell fragrant at the stem. Horiatiki salad depends on tomato juice for its dressing, so watery out-of-season tomatoes will make the salad flat instead of generous and savory.

Culinary Explorer

Mainland Horiatiki Salata (Χωριάτικη)

Ingredients

ripe summer tomatoes

cucumber

green bell pepper

Where cooking meets culture.

Ingredient	Quantity
ripe summer tomatoescut into rough wedges	700g
cucumberpartly peeled and cut into thick half-moons	250g
green bell peppersliced into thin rings	120g