Greek Salad

Submitted by BuckG

An authentic Greek salad actually contains no lettuce. This version of the salad is an American adaptation that is not only very popular in many restaurants, but also among Greeks living in Northern America as well. Lettuce is a definite improvement in my book, though feel free to make one without if you want a true Greek salad.

I chose to stray from exact quantities due to the nature of making a salad. Making one is more about the technique than the actual amounts. You could make enough for one person or enough for a party and the basic method is true no matter the scale.

The most important aspect of making a proper Greek salad is the use of high quality ingredients. With cooking in general, this is typical advice, however, I find that one bad ingredient going into the bowl can really ruin the flavor of the whole thing as the juices tend to mingle and blend with one another.

This goes double for tomatoes as they are the main source of the salad's juice. Make sure they are red all the way through, firm yet tender, and bursting with juice. If the tomatoes are partially green or even yellow on the inside, where all the meat of the fruit is, it won't fly. Lettuce on the other hand can be restored with some ice cold water.

For the dressing, I highly discourage the use of bottled Greek salad dressings. Honestly, the dressing is made by tossing the ingredients right into the bowl with the veggies, and as odd as this may sound, the order of application of the spices effects the taste immensely. So by cheating and using ready made bottled stuff you are really missing on a whole new level of flavor that is possible by using the technique below.

Container
All those valuable run off juices contribute to all the good stuff that you greedily soak up with some good bread. As such, I highly recommend making your salad directly in the serving dish you use. Look for bowl or platter that will have the salad lay wider than deeper. Also, make sure that the rested salad will be no more than 5-6" deep when fully made and still leave plenty of head room to toss the salad easily. If you make the salad any deeper, the top portion of the salad will dry out and be flavorless while everything underneath will be soggy and nasty. If you are aiming to make a lot of salad, I highly recommend the disposable aluminum long trays. Use two if you have to.

Ingredients

 * Crisphead lettuce
 * Vine ripe tomatoes
 * White onion
 * Seedless long cucumber
 * Kalamata olives
 * Chunk Feta
 * Red whine vinegar
 * Extra virgin olive oil
 * Mediterranean oregano
 * salt
 * pepper

Optional additions:
 * Green Bell Pepper
 * Scallions

Directions
The salad is made by layering evenly each ingredient on top of whatever is already in the bowl.

1. The bed
 * 1) Lettuce Peel off as many leaves of the lettuce that you want and refrain from breaking them up by hand into the bowl. Chop the lettuce into strips that are about a finger thick and just as long. If the lettuce is not crisp enough, you can restore it pretty easily by running it through some ice cold water and then letting sit for about a minute in the bowl with some cold water. Drain off the water and don't worry about residual wetness.
 * 2) Onion The onion should be sliced into strips that are about as long as your finger and about half as wide. Just like the lettuce. Some people prefer red onion, use whatever you like/have.
 * 3) Cucumber Depending on preference either peel the cucumber or leave the skin on. Then cut it once along the length and then slice half moons into your salad about as thick as your finger.
 * 4) Tomatoes Cut the tomatoes directly over the lettuce so that the drippings are not lost. Aim for large chunks that are barely bite size and not too narrow in any one direction. Drive your knife into the heart of the tomato and cut out each piece. Do not slice the tomato. This will make sure that the tomato no only retains some juice but also are capable of sucking up some juice from the salad itself.

2. The seasoning
 * 1) Salt Use any of the coarser white salts if you have them, especially sea salt. Regular table top stuff works fine and is what I personally reach for whenever I whip up a salad. Aim for the tomatoes as you dash your salad, applying a light dusting on each one. Careful not to add too much, as feta is salty as well.
 * 2) Feta Good feta is an awesome addition to any variation of a Greek salad. I would recommend not using any of the flavored bricks(tomato and basil anyone?) you can find in your local super market. I also would recommend against the use of packaged precrumbled feta. Grab a big chunk of feta and crumble it over the salad yourself. Do this by palming the feta like you would a lemon and apply the same type of pressure by drumming your your fingers into the feta asynchronously. Remember to crumble the feta across the whole salad, layering it just like you would everything below it.
 * 3) Pepper Preferably you should use finely ground black pepper and dust the feta directly and liberally. Feta can take it, so don't cower from abusing the cheese. I also highly recommend using the canned fine black pepper instead of using a pepper mill. You will want the pepper to stay on the feta cheese and the latter falls off and hangs out at the bottom of the salad. You don't want that.
 * 4) Oregano Dried Mediterranean oregano has a much more intense flavor and is what gives a Greek salad that great taste. Do not add it directly into the salad. Shake some out into your palm and then grab it a pinch at a time and crumble it up as you sprinkle it in. Aim for a light coat on the tomatoes and feta.
 * 5) Oil Extra virgin olive oil or don't bother making the salad. Bad oil and bad tomatoes are a deal breaker. Drizzle the oil on the feta. Be as liberal if not more so than you were with the pepper. You'll want enough oil to coat the lettuce et. al. as well as have enough for dipping.
 * 6) Vinegar I actually made the mistake of using Tarragon vinegar in my Greek salad, never again. Red whine vinegar is the way to go. I'll make an allowance for white vinegar, but I'll sigh heavily. Add a generous splash and aim for the lettuce in between the cracks of the other stuff.
 * 7) Olives Not yet, these get added in during the toss. Just make sure they are well drained and ready within arm's reach for the next step. Kalamata olives are the most common type used for that authentic look, but you can use whatever you like. My favorite are the black wrinkled kind.

Variations: If you are using green bell peppers and/or scallions, add them into the onion layer.

Tossing
Nothing beats a hand tossed salad. Nothing. And in the cases where you are making a enough to feed an army you will be done much quicker than you would using a spork or spoon.


 * 1) Roll up your sleeves
 * 2) Wash your hands, wrists and your lower arms.
 * 3) Cup your hands, leaving cracks in between your fingers and dig into the salad with your palms up and at a 45 degree angle. Assuming your salad is shallow, only half a hand should be in. Flip your hands over and dive back in.
 * 4) Rinse and repeat but don't over do it. Do not worry about blending the oil and vinegar. Usually once the lettuce gets slathered up with oil, the deed is done. You do not want to over homogenize the seasonings. Each bite of a Greek salad has a distinct taste and care should be taken to conserve it.
 * 5) Take the well drained olives at this stage and add them in and then flip everything over once or twice to distribute the olives within the salad.

Resting Stage
You can feel free to test the taste of the salad right away, but it won't tell you much. If anything, you should notice that the vinegar especially stands out a little too much and it doesn't really taste like a Greek salad. This is no cause for alarm.

Allow the salad to rest for at least 20 minutes to let the flavors mingle. The more time it sets, the better up to an hour. If you plan on serving the salad later on in the day, keep the salad in the fridge dry and untossed. In this state, the salad can keep overnight. About 20 minutes before serving it, add in your oil and vinegar and toss it as you normally would.

Serving
Good dipping bread is not a must, but well worth it in my book. Look for any type of bread that is hearty, crusty and tough on the jaw. Greek salad run off is more watery than most dressings, so any of the softer breads can practically dissolve after a generous dunk and that is generally not good eats. If you don't have access to any of the high quality breads, don't fret. Toast up some rye, wheat or even white bread.

Serve as a main dish or as the side salad to a bigger meal.