Greek salad
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| Place of origin | Greece |
|---|---|
| Main ingredients | Tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, feta cheese, olives (usually Kalamata olives), salt, oregano, olive oil |
 Cookbook: Greek salad  Media: Greek salad | |
Greek salad (Greek: χωριάτικη σαλάτα [xorˈjatiki saˈlata] "rustic salad" or θερινή σαλάτα [θeriˈni saˈlata] "summer salad") is a salad in Greek cuisine.
Greek salad is made with pieces of tomatoes, sliced cucumbers, onion, feta cheese, and olives (usually Kalamata olives), typically seasoned with salt and oregano, and dressed with olive oil. Common additions include green bell pepper slices or berries of capers (especially in the Dodecanese islands).
Outside Greece, "Greek salad" may be a lettuce salad with Greek-inspired ingredients, even though the original dish is distinguished by the absence of lettuce. Outside Greece, the salad without lettuce may be called horiatiki, "country salad", "peasant salad", or "village salad". Lettuce, tomatoes, feta, and olives are the most standard elements in an American-style Greek salad, but cucumbers, peperoncini (pickled hot peppers), bell peppers, onions, radishes, dolmades, and anchovies/sardines are common. In Detroit for example, a Greek salad also includes beets, and in the Tampa Bay Area it often includes potato salad. Rather than simple olive oil and vinegar, as in a normal Greek lettuce salad, prepared dressings containing various herbs and seasonings are frequently employed. This style of Greek salad is rarely encountered in Greece.
Various other salads have also been called "Greek" in the English language in the last century, including some with no apparent connection to Greek cuisine. A 1925 Australian newspaper described a Greek Salad of boiled squash dressed with sour milk;[1] a 1934 American newspaper described a mayonnaise-dressed lettuce salad with shredded cabbage and carrots.[2]
Other salads in Greece and Cyprus
There are many other salads in Greek cuisine. These include: the above-mentioned marouli (lettuce) salad with lettuce, onion and dill; cabbage salad ("slaw") (Lahanosalata), dressed with olive oil and lemon juice and garlic; beetroot salad (pantzarosalata), boiled and sliced beetroots, sometimes with beet greens as well, dressed with olive oil and red wine vinegar; roka (rocket) salad, arugula dressed with olive oil and red wine vinegar or lemon juice, possibly including anchovies; patatosalata, potato salad with olive oil, finely sliced onions, lemon juice or vinegar; revithosalata, chickpea salad; and maintanouri, parsley salad, usually used as a condiment.
Cypriot salad, native to the island of Cyprus, consists of finely chopped tomatoes, capers, cucumbers, onions, flat-leaf parsley, feta cheese, dressed with olive oil and lemon or red wine vinegar, closely resembles the "Greek salad" of Greece.
Some spreads and dips found in the meze of Greek cuisine are also regarded as part of the group of "salads" by Greek-speakers, such as melitzanosalata, taramasalata and tzatziki.
See also
- Shopska salad, a similar salad from Bulgaria
- Çoban salatası, a similar salad from Turkey
- Serbian salad, a similar salad from Serbia
References
- ↑ "The Age – Google News Archive Search". google.com. January 13, 1925. p. 7.
- ↑ The Daily Times (Rochester and Beaver, Pennsylvania), March 13, 1934
External links
- Recipe of Greek Salad along with a picture of how it is served in Greek Restaurants
- The traditional Greek salad, simple yet glorious
