Greek salad, choriatiki or Horiatiki (Greek: χωριάτικη σαλάτα or θερινή σαλάτα) is a salad in Greek cuisine generally made with pieces of tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, feta cheese, and olives (typically Kalamata olives) and dressed with salt, Greek oregano, and olive oil. Common additions include lemon juice, green bell pepper, caper berries (especially on the Cyclades islands), and mint or parsley for decoration (mainly in Northern Greece). Greek salad is often imagined as a farmer's breakfast or lunch, as its ingredients resemble those that a Greek farmer might have on hand.
Contents
In Greece
Preparation and Serving
The tomatoes are commonly cut into symmetrical wedge-shaped pieces, while the cucumber, onion and green pepper are cut into thin slices. The feta cheese, olives, olive oil, salt, and Greek oregano are then added. It is conventionally left unmixed prior to serving.
Consumption
The salad is consumed either from the same plate or, after mixing, is shared among diners.
A substantial quantity of juice from the tomatoes and other vegetables, as well as olive oil, often remains on the plate or plates after the salad has been consumed. Particularly in informal settings, bread is not uncommonly dipped into this juice-and-oil mixture.
Outside Greece
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. Meanwhile, the variant without lettuce may be called horiatiki, 'peasant salad', or 'village salad'. However, in most European countries, including the UK, the dish broadly resembles the original.
In an American-style Greek salad, lettuce, tomatoes, feta (often served in multiple cube-shaped cuttings mixed with the vegetables), and olives are the most standard elements, but cucumbers, peperoncini (pickled hot peppers), bell peppers, onions, radishes, dolmades, and anchovies/sardines are common. Regional variants may include unusual components, e.g. in Detroit, beets, and in the Tampa Bay area, potato salad. Dressings containing various herbs and seasonings are frequently used in the U.S. These styles of Greek salad are 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; a 1934 American newspaper described a mayonnaise-dressed lettuce salad with shredded cabbage and carrots.
Some spreads and dips found in the meze of Greek cuisine are also called "salads" in Greek, such as melitzanosalata, taramasalata and tzatziki.