Greek Salad

There should be no compromise on the quality of ingredients you use to make a Greek salad.

It’s not important what size of tomato you select…but choosing a ripe, extremely tasty tomato with a nice bite of sweetness is critical. This usually means vine-ripened, but if you’re not growing your own tomatoes, then perhaps it would be good to visit a local farmer’s market and try to find the tastiest tomato you can get a hold of…trust me – the search is fun!

Most Greek salads use green peppers, although you can make the salad with yellow or red sweet peppers. I like compromising and using yellow sweet peppers with a nice shade of green. Depending on variety and age, you may need to remove the seeds from the cucumber you select. A general rule is to remove the seeds if they are large and plentiful, otherwise leave them there.

The use of vinegar is purely to introduce some acidity to the dish. If your tofu feta and tomatoes are slightly acidic, then go ahead and leave the vinegar out…otherwise, add a small amount to create balance.

I always add olives to create saltiness to the salad…and a slight bit of umami. I try to use dried black olives or kalamata olives. In either case, use olives that still have the pits because these will have the most flavor.

Be sure to check out my full story on A Greek Salad to Remember:

Difficulty: simple
Yield: makes about 4-6 servings