The TOMATO, FETA AND OLIVE SALAD, similar to the Greek salad but without cucumber and pepper, is a light dish, ideal to enjoy all year round but especially in summer, when you crave fresh, tasty and easy-to-make foods. The main ingredient of this salad is feta, the best-known Greek cheese, which stands out for its slightly tangy and savory taste, with a compact yet crumbly texture. Easy and quick to prepare, this salad can be served as a cheerful starter, a side dish for a main course or, in the right quantities, as a main dish.
And despite its simplicity, it is really tasty and very well balanced, both in flavors and textures, as a great salad should be. And don’t remove the onion, even though I know many will wrinkle their noses: use the trick I suggest and you’ll see you won’t have any problems digesting it.
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- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Budget-friendly
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 4 servings
- Cooking methods: No-cook
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Summer
Ingredients
- 2.2 lb salad tomatoes
- 5 oz feta
- 3.5 oz Greek black olives (Kalamata)
- 1 red spring onion
- to taste extra virgin olive oil
- to taste dried oregano
- to taste mint
- to taste basil
- to taste salt
Tools
- 1 Bowl
Steps
To prepare this very fresh and flavorful TOMATO, FETA AND OLIVE SALAD, slice the red onion thinly and soak it for 10 minutes in 3 1/3 tbsp of water and 1 1/3 tbsp of vinegar to make it more digestible.
Wash the tomatoes well and cut them into slices that are not too thin. Place them in a salad bowl and add the olives, the drained onion, the feta cut into cubes and dress everything with olive oil, a pinch of salt (don’t overdo it because feta is already quite salty on its own), oregano and a few mint and basil leaves.
Toss everything together and serve.
FETA
Feta is the traditional Greek cheese, semi-firm but crumbly, very white and slightly salty (it matures in brine for a period that varies from two to three months). It is traditionally made from sheep’s milk and rennet. It can contain up to 30% goat’s milk. In October 2002, Feta was recognized as a PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) product.
This means that the name “Feta” cannot be used by similar cheeses produced elsewhere in the European Union or by different production methods. Besides being the ingredient that characterizes the famous Greek salad (tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, peppers, oregano and black olives), it is also part of the typical snacks served at aperitivo time, together with ouzo.
