Evidently, Greek cuisine belongs to the Mediterranean style. So, it comprises of many vegetables and results in a healthy diet. Hence, the most distinctive recipes in this cuisine are Greek salads. You can use many vegetables and other types of olives to make these recipes. Also, they are very easy and can be very delicious. One excellent combination is moussaka with a greek salad at a family dinner. Apart from the family dinners, you can find traditional greek salads in each restaurant, especially in the centre of Athens and on the islands. The menus are designed to draw the attention of the tourists, in order to taste the famous Greek foods.
So, below there is a list of the most popular Greek salads!
Greek Salads
1.Psilokomeni
To begin with, it is a salad which is made with romaine lettuce, scallion, dill, olive oil, red wine, black pepper and last but not least oregano. Firstly, you should wash all the vegetables. Especially, you should chop the lettuce into slim pieces. Moreover, most of the greens must be finely chopped. Secondly, you put all the ingredients in a bowl and start blending with a mixture of olive oil, red wine, vinegar, salt and black pepper. The name of the salad means the way how we cut the vegetables (thin pieces).
Ingredients
For the salad
- 1 large lettuce
- 4 fresh onions
- 4-5 sprigs of dill
- 1 small cucumber (with its peel)
- 1 radish
- 5-6 olives
- some dill tassels
For the dressing
- 1/3 cup of olive oil
- 4 tbsp of vinegar
- Salt
Execution
For the psilokomeni
Firstly, you have to choose a large and fresh lettuce and wash it. After washing it, you must drain it. Above all, taverns serve this salad with chopped lettuce and eat it instantly. In the end, you put all the ingredients in a bowl and last but not least you add the chopped dill.
For the dressing
Overall, you have to select a jar and put the olive oil, vinegar and salt. Next, shake the content until it gets creamy. Note:(Add the sauce in the salad at the last minute in order to be fresh.)
2. Lahanosalata
Basically, the people make this greek gabbage salad in winter, It comprises of red or white gabbage and you can use olive oil and lemon juice for dressing. Apart from them, it is beneficial of using various spices and herbs. Also, one ideal choice are yoghurt-based or mayonnaise-based dressings. This salad suits the main dishes.
Ingredients
For the salad
- 1/2 kg of cabbage (finely cut)
- 1/2 kg of red gabbage
- 1 sour apple
- 1/2 cup of roasted pine nuts
- 6 tomatoes
For the sauce
- 1/2 cup of olive oil
- 3 tbsp of balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 orange juice
- 1 tsp mustard and honey
Execution
Firstly, you put all the ingredients in a bowl. Secondly, you shake very well. Thirdly, you make the sauce. In the end, you serve the lahanosalata.
3. Tonosalata
In brief, tonosalata is very easy to prepare. In any case, it is full of the usual Greek flavours. It contains chunks of tuna, diced vegetables and some alternatives such as capers, olives and herbs. You can use either a creamy dressing or a seasoning of olive oil and lemon juice on top. Eventually, it is combined with bread.
Ingredients
- 1 tuna
- 1 chopped cucumber
- 1 crumbled carrot
- 1 sprig of celery cut into thin pieces
- A little parsley
- 1 tbsp of cut dry onion
- 1 tbsp of mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp of mustard
- A little lemon juice
- Salt and pepper
Execution
First, grate the cucumber or otherwise you can chop it. Then, smash the tuna with a fork. In a bowl add the celery, onion, carrot, parsley and tuna. Afterwards, pour salt and pepper alongside the mayonnaise, mustard and lemon juice. Eventually, add the cucumber and blend. The tonosalata is ready to serve.
4. Patatosalata
In fact, Greek potato salad can accompany different meals. Basically, it contains large potatoes and then you should use a mixture of olive oil, mustard, yoghurt or mayonnaise as a dressing. But there are some variations with vegetables, boiled eggs and various herbs. Generally, this salad is a perfect side meal with grilled meat.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 kg potatoes
- 2 tbsp of mild mustard
- 200gr mayonnaise
- Lemon zest from 2 lemons
- Lemon juice from 1 lemon
- 1 tbsp of honey.
- Salt
- Pepper
- 2 tbsp of olive oil
- 3 tbsp of white wine vinegar
- 50g capers
- 50g olives
- 4 fresh onions
- 2kg celery
- 1/2 bunch of parsley
- 1 tsp of smoked paprika
Execution
- Wash the potatoes very well.
- Put them over high heat. Then boil for 30-40 minutes.
- Drain the potatoes.
- In a bowl, mix the mustard, mayonnaise, lemon zest, lemon juice, honey, pepper, and salt.
- Next, peel the potatoes and chop them into big pieces.
- Pour over salt, pepper, olive oil and vinegar.
- Add in the bowl the spices and the celery and parsley as well as serve with the paprika.
- Blend well
Tip: The longer patatosalata stays in the fridge, the tastier it becomes!
5. Greek Salad
To start with, Greek salad is known as village salad or horiatiki. Moreover, the locals consider it the national dish of the country. It is comprised of tomatoes, red onions and some cucumbers. Also, you can put olives, green peppers, feta cheese and oregano, but the variations apply according to the region. As noted before, you can add feta cheese, either sliced or crumbled. Most importantly, there is a rumour that the farmers took the necessary ingredients and mixed a salad. That might be the reason the salad was named horiatiki.
Ingredients
- 2 tomatoes
- 1 tbsp of honey
- 3 tbsp of red wine vinegar
- Salt and pepper
- 1 small cucumber
- Half green pepper
- Half onion
- 20g capers
- 50g olives
- 150g feta cheese
- 1 tbsp of oregano
- 4 tbsp of olive oil
Execution
- Chop the tomatoes in small portions and put them in a bowl.
- Then, in another bowl, insert honey. 2 tablespoons of vinegar and blend until the honey melts.
- Next, transfer the mixture into the bowl with the tomatoes.
- Cut the cucumber into a round shape.
- Chop the onion into very small pieces. Put 1 tablespoon of vinegar.
- In the end, all materials are inserted into the big bowl, but…..
- Do not forget the capers, olives, feta cheese, pepper, oregano and olive oil.
Advice: I would recommend to serving the salad with bread. Trust me!
Indeed Greek salads can be accompanied with some dishes of Greek cuisine. Shortly, you have to know which one is better for each occasion. Therefore, the family dinners are an excellent chance for mass gatherings, so the greeks take advantage of it. After all, they really like traditional meals alongside the most famous salads, especially the choriatiki. But there are so many excellent choices, which are explained in the whole article. Subsequently, Mediterranean cuisine consists of abundant options for a healthy diet.
If you are interested in learning more about cuisine, press here!