It is difficult to find a person who has never tried Greek salad, because for this it is not necessary to go to his homeland. This tasty and healthy dish can be cooked at home. To do this, you only need to know what kind of vegetables it includes, what it seasoned with and what kind of cheese in Greek salad? Now it's up to you to find the right recipe.
The history of the Greek salad
In Greece, in the homeland of this famous salad, it is considered rustic. And all thanks to such a straightforward composition. Fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, onions, olives, olive oil and Feta cheese were the main products in the diet of ordinary peasants. But the story of the appearance on the table of the Greeks of the salad itself is associated with one curious case.
The fact is that back in the 19th century, vegetables, for example, tomatoes and even onions, were customary to eat as a whole, biting off a piece and eating bread or cheese. And only in 1909, one emigrant from Greece, having returned from America to his home, decided to grind the usual products and combine them together. The reason for this was a bad tooth, which did not allow the young man to bite off the whole vegetables.
Later, his sister, who also liked this dish, decided to treat them to guests at a village wedding. The success was overwhelming. So the first and original recipe for Greek salad with feta cheese appeared. Now he is famous not only in Greece, but also far beyond the borders of this sunny country.
Greek salad cheese: name, description
According to the Greeks themselves, the salad, the preparation of which does not use feta, can no longer be called Greek. This cheese has long been a hallmark of Greece. It is made only in this country, exclusively in certain areas, for example, on the island of Crete, in Macedonia and some others.
Feta is a soft, salty, light cheese made from sheep and goat milk. For its fermentation, a special
rennet renin is used. A prerequisite for the preparation of cheese is a certain ratio of milk: 70% sheep and 30% goat. Nothing more is added, no preservatives, dyes.
The technology for making cheese has remained unchanged for many years. First, an enzyme is added to the milk, due to which it is fermented to form a mass resembling cottage cheese. Then it is pressed into special pieces. After this, the formed mass is soaked in a special brine in wooden barrels for another two months. So it turns out the very cheese for the Greek salad, the name of which is from Italian and translates as "piece". Feta is the most famous and popular soft cheese in the whole world.
Original salad dressing
According to the classic "rustic" recipe, Greek salad is seasoned only with olive oil. With a little addition. To create a fragrant bouquet and a unique taste, lemon juice and Provencal herbs are added to high-quality cold-pressed olive oil.
Salad dressing should always be prepared in advance so that all its components are interconnected, and she has managed to infuse and soak in their smells. For it you will need: 70 ml of olive oil, juice of half a lemon (can be replaced with a tablespoon of wine or balsamic vinegar), aromatic herbs (oregano, thyme or Provence).
Therefore, not only the cheese in the Greek salad will be present, but also the true taste of the dish depends on the dressing itself. Now it remains to collect all the ingredients together and proceed directly to the cooking process.
Classic Greek Salad Recipe
In the preparation of Greek salad, too, there are secrets that must be taken into account. It seems to be complicated: chop vegetables and soft cheese, season them and mix thoroughly. But this is not so at all. The original recipe for Greek salad with feta cheese does not involve mixing the ingredients, but layering them in layers.
To prepare this dish you will need such components:
- 4 medium-sized tomatoes;
- 2 cucumbers;
- 1 large sweet green pepper;
- ½ head of onion (sweet, purple);
- 150 g feta;
- 8 pieces of black olives;
- some capers;
- dressing prepared according to the recipe suggested above.
All the ingredients for the salad are cut large and laid in layers in a certain sequence.
1. Cut the cucumbers: small circles, large again in half. Put on the bottom of the salad bowl.
2. Peel the core and cut into half rings. Arrange on top of cucumbers.
3. Peel the tomatoes from the stalk and cut into four parts.
4. Onions are cut in half rings. After that, it must be washed in cold water to remove the bitterness. Squeeze the onion and lay out next, after the tomatoes, a layer.
5. Decorate the dish with capers and olives, which do not need to be cut beforehand.
6. Season salad, do not mix.
7. Top with a whole piece of cheese and pour it with the remaining dressing.
8. Immediately before serving, it is necessary to salt, pepper and mix the Greek salad. Cheese "Feta" while carefully breaking into large pieces.
So prepare a Greek salad in his homeland. However, many chefs in different countries have long left the traditional recipe, and offer restaurant visitors a dish that includes other types of cheese.
How to replace Feta cheese in Greek salad?
If before preparing a Greek salad you can’t find feta, you can try to replace it with another brine cheese. Brynza has similar tastes. This cheese is also suitable for Greek salad, as it is also soaked in brine, but, unlike feta, it does not crumble so much and is more compressed, so when you add it to the dish, you still have to cut it.
Brynza has a more salty taste. For a Greek salad, cheese of this kind is less suitable only in that the dish is very easy to salt. To prevent this, cheese should be soaked for several hours in cold boiled water. So it will become less salty and will be more like a traditional Greek cheese.
There are other options for replacing feta. Often in the recipes use the Greek cheeses sirtaki and fetax. Both have a pronounced salty taste, so use them in recipes carefully. Otherwise, you can greatly salt the dish, than, as a result, spoil it.
Greek salad with fetax cheese: a step by step recipe
This is not an original salad recipe from Greece. And the matter is not only in another grade of cheese. Instead of onions, lettuce is used here. Otherwise, the ingredients are similar. The Greek salad recipe with Fetax cheese requires the following components: tomatoes (2 pcs.), Cucumbers (2 pcs.), Bell pepper, lettuce, olives, fetaxa (150 g), olive oil (30 ml), salt.
Step by step recipe:
1. Cut cucumbers, tomatoes and bell peppers into large pieces.
2. Tear lettuce leaves by hand.
3. Cut fetax into large cubes. It has a dense structure, so unlike feta it will not crumble.
4. Olives can be cut in half or added whole to the salad.
5. Stir all the ingredients in one salad bowl, season with olive oil and salt to taste.
The above recipe for a Greek salad with Fetaxa cheese is not inferior in taste to the classic version. If desired, you can change the salad dressing by adding lemon juice and aromatic spices to olive oil.
Greek salad with sirtaki
Stepping aside from the original recipe, you can cook an equally delicious salad, but with another cheese. Sirtaki is also from Greece, but they learned to cook it successfully in Russia from cow's milk. In structure, it is more dense than feta. It is well cut into cubes, does not crumble.
The recipe for a Greek salad with Sirtaki cheese involves the use of tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet peppers, olives, olive oil and fresh basil. All ingredients are usually cut into large pieces so that you can feel the taste of each of them. Salad is seasoned with olive oil with fresh basil (½ bunch) or dry (1 teaspoon). Sirtaki is salted cheese, so salt is added at the very last moment when dressing salad. Otherwise, the dish may be damaged.
Sirtaki cheese salad recipe is a great alternative to traditional cooking. It can be served both on the festive table and for breakfast.
Mozzarella in greek salad
A tasty and healthy dish of fresh vegetables can be prepared with the addition of Italian mozzarella. It has a dense consistency, but at the same time it has a delicate, salty taste. Mozzarella cheese is no worse for a Greek salad than sirtaki or fetaxa.
This recipe uses the same ingredients as those suggested above. Tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, olives, soft cheese and olive oil are essential ingredients in a salad. But to add onions depends on the excellent preferences of the cook.
Greek salad seasoned with traditional dressing of olive oil, lemon juice and Provence herbs.
Greek salad with Adyghe cheese
Real Greek sheep milk cheese is not found in every store. Of course, they learned to make it in Russia from cow's milk. But the taste of such cheese (feta, sirtaki or fetax is not the essence) is not at all the same, and the price is still high. How to find a way out?
There is another option that is ideal for Greek salad - Adyghe cheese. It is more fresh to taste, but with skillful preparation of dressing it can quite replace the more expensive cheeses. The rest of the recipe for cooking Greek salad remains unchanged.