The Simple Truth About Greek Salad

Humble yet glorious, the classic summer dish is all about the ingredients

You'll find horiatiki everywhere from home dinner tables to fancy restaurants across Greece. Sven Hansche/Shutterstock

Sometimes simplicity isn’t so simple. A recipe with just a few easily prepared ingredients nevertheless demands care with the quality to make it truly shines.

Take the Greek salad, for example. In Greece, that’s horiatiki (xoriatiki), meaning “village salad,” a hint at its ubiquity. It’s a delicious, healthful dish with the bounty of a summer garden at its heart. While recipes may vary just a bit, as will the proportions, it’s worth taking the time to get those ingredients just right.

So I consulted Kelly Salonica Staikopoulos, author of a Greek cookbook series, “Kukla’s Kouzina: A Gourmet Journey Greek Island Style,” which includes two volumes (so far): “Spreads and Dips” and “Meze.” Both the books and a blog are filled with great recipes developed by her and her sister, Joanne Staikopoulos Marzella. Many of these were influenced by their mother, Mary (Kukla), a first-generation Greek American born in West Virginia. Both her daughters, however, were born back in Greece. Staikopoulos, her sister, and her niece Jackie also host a YouTube cooking channel. Staikopoulos walked me through the ingredients.

Tomatoes and Cucumbers

Tomatoes hail from the Americas, something unknown to ancient Greece, but much like the Italians one peninsula to the west, the Greeks took to them quite nicely in the past few centuries. Get them when they are ripe and full of flavor.

Cherry tomatoes work—and heaven knows some of us are inundated with those—but Staikopoulos prefers the yellow-orange on-the-vine variety, which are less acidic than the red. She emphasizes that this should be a gentle salad in that regard. These tomatoes also carry more flesh and less water, which is what you want.

Similarly, she uses the English, or seedless, variety of cucumber for less water.

“You don’t want a soggy salad. Add them at the very last minute with the dressing just before serving,” she advised.

Cut the cucumbers in round slices or cube them, and cut small tomatoes in halves or wedges. In either case, don’t cut too small, or their individual flavors are lost in the mix; you’re not making salsa.

And if you are adding greens—and it seems not everyone does—she emphasizes going for flavorful ones. That means using romaine or spring greens, never iceberg.

Feta

A lot of feta you might find at the local grocery store is produced from cow’s milk, which isn’t what you would find on a Greek table.

“For hundreds of years, sheep and goats have been raised in Greece for their milk—hence, most cheeses are made with that milk,” said Staikopoulos. (And for cooking? “Hello, roast lamb with potatoes.”)

“Cows? Not so much. We’re not a moo country, but lots of ‘baa.’”

Check the label for sheep’s or goat’s milk, or a blend of them. The difference, she informs us, is creamy, smooth, and mild flavor from the sheep, and a tangy quality from goats. Her suggestion for an alternative outside of Greece is Bulgarian feta, which is quite good and similar, if a bit saltier.

Oregano

This is “the ‘opa!’ in Greek salads,” Staikopoulos said. From the ancient Greek “oros” (mountain) and “ganos” (joy), the “joy of the mountain” in this dish is distinct from, uh, other joys of other mountains.

There are actually many varieties of oregano, some of which are more decorative than flavorful, or offer larger leaves but lack flavor. In fact, marjoram (Origanum majorana) is also a kind of oregano, also known to the ancient Greeks, but this is sweeter and milder, and you wouldn’t swap it here.

Be sure to use the Greek variety, Origanum vulgare hirtus, the herb formerly known as Origanum heracleoticum. (Sorry for the Linnaeusian Latin deep-dive here, but it can make a difference when you’re ordering garden seeds.) The more citrusy Mexican and Cuban oregano aren’t even actually “true” oreganos of the genus Origanum. (Though they are similarly part of the larger mint family, Lamiaceae—cousins, you can say.)

You’ll likely reach for the bottle in the spice rack here, and that will taste great, but Staikopoulos has another recommendation: “A combo of dried and fresh Greek oregano gives a salad dimension, richly kicking up the flavor of the dressing.”

The Dressing

The dressing can be made ahead of time so that when you’re ready to go, just chop and mix the ingredients and stir in the dressing when ready to serve. Staikopoulos recommends two parts Greek extra-virgin olive oil (0.5 percent acidity or less) mixed with one part freshly squeezed lemon juice.

“The more acidic the olive oil, the harsher the flavor, so go low!” she warned.

Lemon juice “adds a nice citrus flavor to the salad and marries well with the saltiness of the feta,” she said. You may find red wine vinegar in recipes, but she tells me that there is “no vinegar in Greek salad. Restaurants use it because it’s cheaper.”

Greek Salad (Horiatiki/Xoriatiki)

The quality of the ingredients is tantamount here, so you may play with the proportions a bit according to taste. Work for a balance of flavors. When I asked Staikopoulos for measures, she provided them, but added, “We mostly eyeball it, adding more or less to our taste.” Sounds like a mother’s (or grandmother’s) cooking instructions, so you know it’s good.

Serves 4

• 4 medium vine tomatoes, sliced or wedged
• 1 English cucumber, sliced or in large cubes
• 1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives
• 6 ounces feta cheese (goat and/or sheep’s milk)
• A few pepperoncini peppers (optional)

For the Dressing

• 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon dried Greek oregano
• 1 teaspoon fresh oregano leaves

Mix together the ingredients for the dressing and keep until ready to serve the salad.

In a large serving bowl, add the prepared tomato, cucumber, onion, and olives, and mix. Crumble the feta according to taste as you mix that in as well. (In contrast, restaurants may serve a slab of feta on top for presentation and prep time savings.) No salt is generally needed, as the cheese and olives provide plenty.

Add the dressing to the salad to taste, but start sparingly—you don’t want to smother the flavors of the salad ingredients.