The world-famous Greek salad
Undoubtedly, Greek salads have left no tourist visiting this sunny country indifferent. Although they are not distinguished by special delicacies or complexity of preparation. But they are tasty, refreshing, and in the best Mediterranean traditions. Let's start with the simple – village salad or horiatiki, as it is called in the original.
Ingredients:
2 tomatoes
2 small cucumbers
1 green bell pepper
A pinch of dried oregano
6-8 black olives
1 small onion
Two pieces of fresh feta (about 200 g)
Olive oil, salt, pepper to taste
First, cut the tomatoes into large cubes and place them in a salad bowl. Add the peeled cucumber in small thick strips, the onion cut into half rings, and the bell pepper. Sprinkle all the products with lemon juice. Place the feta pieces on top, sprinkle with oregano and drizzle with olive oil. Around the feta, garnish the salad with olives.
This is a classic Greek recipe served in traditional Hellenic taverns. It turns out very beautiful and tasty. If no next dish is planned, horiatiki can be served with a warm unleavened yeast flatbread or black bread.
The next salad, which can almost always be found among the assortment of appetizers (mezedes) for ouzo (anise vodka). They are served both in taverns and in ouzeries, where men often gather at the card table to play biriba. Among the mezedes, there are always tzatziki – yogurt with grated cucumber, garlic and seasoned with olive oil, almost transparent fried zucchini rounds, dolma, tirokafteri – a spicy cheese mixture, fresh pepper grilled, and of course, melitzanosalata.
Ingredients:
Eggplants 0.5 kg
1 medium onion
Cilantro or parsley
Lemon juice, olive oil, pepper and salt, garlic.
Place the eggplants in foil or a roasting bag, simmer in the oven at 180 degrees. Remove the skin and mash the flesh with a fork or use a mixer for this purpose. Put the onion, herbs, and a clove of garlic in a food processor and grind until smooth. Mix with the eggplants. Add a quarter cup of fresh lemon juice, a couple tablespoons of olive oil, some salt and pepper to the mixture.
Let the salad infuse for several hours. Serve as an appetizer with fresh bread, fried potatoes, meat. You can also add tomato to the mixture. This will not spoil the Greek recipe at all. But wine vinegar instead of lemon can kill the rich eggplant flavor.
In fact, the main trick to properly preparing Greek dishes is extremely fresh ingredients, as well as good olive oil, which the Hellenes add almost everywhere. Naturally, you can replace it with any vegetable oil, feta with brine cheese, black olives with green ones, lemon juice with vinegar, and oregano with dill. But in that case, the final result is unlikely to remind you of the intoxicating smells and tastes of Greek taverns.
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