Authentic Greek Salad

We still have one glorious month of summer ahead until September rolls around and Stuart starts grad school in the fall. Tomatoes are just about perfect right now and I have been busy enjoying fresh tomatoes in pastas, this burrata nectarine salad, and...you guessed it, Greek salad! I thought I would devote a quick post to my love of this easy, fresh salad and my very strong opinions about what makes an "authentic" Greek salad superior to the Americanized version.

I was lucky enough to travel to Greece in the summer of 2005 before I started college, a generous high school graduation gift from mom and dad. While there, I learned the pleasures of eating a true Greek salad - something I indulged in once or twice per day. In America if you order Greek salad off the menu it likely comes on a bed of fresh lettuce. WRONG! An authentic Greek salad has no lettuce at all - the spotlight is on the crisp, fresh ingredients such as cucumber, tomato, and onion. And guess what: the Greek salad I made, pictured above, is also not authentic (sadly, it's the best I could do at the time). An true Greek salad will come with one large, intact rectangle of feta cheese sitting on top that you break up as you eat. Not once in Greece will you see this salad served with pre-crumbled feta. Aside from looking pretty, this serving style means that your cheese will be more fresh and flavorful. An authentic salad should look more like the one pictured below.

Ingredients:

1 cucumber, sliced 1/4-inch thick
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 red onion, sliced in half-rounds
1/2 pound feta cheese (not crumbled)
1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted

For the vinaigrette:
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup good red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup good olive oil


Directions:

1. Place the cucumber, peppers, tomatoes and red onion in a large bowl.
2. For the vinaigrette, whisk together the garlic, oregano, mustard, vinegar, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Still whisking, slowly add the olive oil to make an emulsion. 

3. Pour the vinaigrette over the vegetables. Add the feta and olives and toss lightly. Set aside for 30 minutes to allow the flavors to blend. Serve at room temperature.