Greek

Greek-Style Village Salad (Horiatiki)

Chunky tomatoes, cucumber, green pepper, red onion and Kalamata olives, crowned with a slab of feta, oregano and plenty of good olive oil.

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Greek village salad with tomatoes, cucumber, red onion rings, black olives and cubes of feta
Photo: cyclonebill / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

A real horiatiki — village salad — has no lettuce and no complicated dressing. It's simply ripe vegetables cut into generous chunks, a handful of olives and a thick slab of feta, finished with dried oregano and a good pour of olive oil.

Because there are so few ingredients, each one matters. Use the ripest tomatoes you can find, a block of feta kept in brine rather than pre-crumbled, and your best extra-virgin olive oil.

The best part comes at the end: the tomato juices, oil and crumbs of feta pool at the bottom of the bowl, and in Greece everyone reaches in with bread to mop them up.

Greek-Style Village Salad (Horiatiki)

Prep Time
15 min
Cook Time
No cooking
Total Time
15 min
Servings
4
Calories
290 kcal*
Difficulty
Easy

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Salt the tomatoes

    Put the tomato wedges in a wide shallow bowl and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Leave for 5 minutes while you prepare everything else — this draws out their juices, which become part of the dressing.

  2. Add the vegetables

    Add the cucumber, green pepper, onion, olives and capers, if using. Drizzle with the vinegar, if using, and toss gently.

  3. Top with feta

    Lay the whole slab of feta on top. Sprinkle the oregano over the feta and the salad, rubbing it between your fingers to release its aroma.

  4. Finish with oil

    Pour the olive oil over everything, especially the feta, and serve immediately with bread.

Tips & Tricks

  • Don't refrigerate the tomatoes — cold kills their flavor. Keep them at room temperature until you use them.
  • Soak the sliced onion in cold water for 5 minutes if you find raw onion too sharp.

Substitutions

  • Olives: Any good brined black olive works if you can't find Kalamata.
  • Vinegar: Many Greek cooks use no vinegar at all — the tomato juices provide the acidity.

Storage Instructions

  • Best eaten straight away. Leftovers keep for a day in the fridge but the vegetables soften; bring back to room temperature before eating.

Serving Suggestions

Nutrition Information

Per serving

Calories
290 kcal
Carbohydrates
9 g
Protein
8 g
Fat
25 g
Saturated fat
8 g
Fiber
3 g
Sugar
6 g
Sodium
760 mg

* Nutrition values are estimates calculated from the ingredient list and will vary with brands and portion sizes. See our disclaimer.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Greek salad have lettuce?

The traditional village salad (horiatiki) does not. Salads with lettuce are common outside Greece but are a different dish.

Should I crumble the feta?

Traditionally the feta sits on top as a single slab and each person breaks off a piece. Crumbling is fine too, but a slab stays creamier.