The recipe for “Greek” salad: preparing the “hillbilly” who conquered the world

By and large, the village salad was always prepared from what was in the bins of the peasant. The likeness of our vinaigrette. It is believed that the composition of the classic "Greek" salad formed several centuries ago. And the only snag is in tomatoes. Today, this rosy vegetable is considered almost the main ingredient in the dish. Meanwhile, a tomato came to Greece not so long ago. Europeans first learned about it in the 16th century, and tomatoes reached Greece already at the beginning of the 18th century.

Tomato cultivation in Greece started in 1825. At first, this vegetable was eaten, like some kind of delicacy. It was out of the question to send such value to a bowl with a village salad. And only with time, when the Greeks learned to grow this vegetable crop, tomatoes, along with cucumbers and onions, were among the ingredients of the traditional dish.

History of choriatics: 2 versions

Historians still argue about when and how the recipe for the “Greek” salad appeared. There are two main versions of the origin of this dish (not counting the ancient one).

The emigrant returned to his father's house

Once, at the very beginning of the 20th century, a Greek emigrant, who had not been at home for many years, returned to the patrimony of America. The occasion was worthy - the wedding of his own nephew. The emigrant traveled thousands of kilometers with only one thought: as soon as he got to his native village, he would immediately taste olives, paprika, fresh cucumbers and sweet onions - products that were always in his father’s house and which you won’t find in American stores during the day.

On the way home, the protagonist of this legend terribly sore teeth. The sister cordially greeted the dear guest, and immediately began to relieve him of the annoying pain of aniseed vodka. After rinsing, the toothache receded, but not completely. And therefore, in order to finally be able to taste the taste of childhood, our hero began to eat vegetables not entirely, but first chopped them in a common plate and laid a weighty piece of fresh feta on top of vegetables. My sister was surprised, but generously flavored the salad with olive oil, and she tried it herself. She liked her brother's culinary improvisation so much that on the wedding day she treated this salad to everyone who came to congratulate the young.

And in the tavern the violin is crying quietly ...

The second version says that the recipe for “Greek” salad with fetaxa appeared closer to the end of the XX century. This happened allegedly in the Athenian tavern, located in the historical and oldest part of the Greek capital - on Plaka. Visitors turned to the owners of the tavern with a request to cook something hearty and refreshing. And while the street musician “sawed” the violin, delighting visitors with a potpourri of groovy tunes, the hostess instantly chopped up traditional Greek vegetables and seasoned them with olive oil and feta.

Be that as it may, today in sunny Greece you will not find a single tavern or restaurant, the menu of which lacks choriatics.

Feta, feta cheese, fetax, tofu ...

There are many variations of recipes.Some suggest laying feta on top of vegetables in a massive chunk. Others assure that the main highlight of the salad should be cut into cubes. Still others use cheese instead of feta, fetax or tofu. To understand the variety of cheese components of choriatics will help the table.

Table - Feta and Fetazameniteli

What to put in the salad - you choose. But feta is the traditional queen of this conquered world dish. The first cheese recipe was fixed at the end of the 16th century and was reduced to a simple algorithm: cut regular cheese into portions and pour a small amount of sea water so that it covered the surface of the dairy product. Then there was a lot of disputes regarding the one who has the right to produce cheese and consider himself its author. At the beginning of the XXI century, this dispute was won by Greece. From now on, only she can call herself the only feta producer in the whole globe.

Olives: Green or Black

It just so happened that we call the green fruits of the olive tree olives, and the black ones - olives. In fact, everything is much simpler. Obviously, olives and olives are the same “berries” ripening on olive. The color of the fruit depends on the degree of maturity and type of tree. By and large, no matter what color olives you choose. The main thing is that their taste is to your liking.

Cooking a “Greek” salad at home without olives is not worth it. This ingredient will add piquancy and make the dish more healthy. Olive fruits contain almost 60% of healthy fats and oils. They are very nutritious and perfectly satisfy the feeling of hunger.

Classic Greek Salad Recipe

Feature. The main feature of choriatics is that all the ingredients of the Greek salad are not chopped, but actually chopped. In earlier times, these vegetables were eaten whole. Including onion. Today, they are simply chopped into large pieces so that the ingredients do not lose priceless juice.

You will need:

• tomatoes - 0.5 kg;
• large paprika - three pieces;
• cucumber - 400 g;
• shallots or red Yalta onions - 200 g;
• pitted olives - a can;
• feta - 200 g;
• olive oil - six large spoons;
• lemon juice - three large spoons;
• oregano, salt, pepper - to taste.

Cooking steps

1. First of all, we are preparing a gas station, which, according to the chefs, should have time to be infused. To do this, use a whisk to mix olive oil and freshly squeezed lemon juice, after which we add oregano to the composition. Salt and pepper.
2. We cut vegetables in the most acceptable way for you, but always large.
3. We send the vegetables to the salad bowl, pour in the dressing and carefully mix.
4. We put a feta bar in a salad bowl on top, assuming that everyone will take exactly as much cheese as he wants. And not as much as randomly falling into his plate.
5. Sprinkle feta with oregano leftovers. Pour the olives on top. Serve on the table.

Modern Russified Options

For our places, the classic recipe for choriatics is not enough calories. Therefore, you can safely upgrade the dish by adding more satisfying ingredients to it. For example, white chicken or seafood.

With boiled chicken and crackers

Feature. Salad with boiled chicken can be safely served as a main dish. Even a man can get enough of him, not that a fragile woman. However, at the same time, the dish will still remain dietary and healthy. Chicken will not only make the snack more satisfying, but also fill it with the necessary protein and microelements (phosphorus, calcium, potassium, zinc).

You will need:

• chicken breasts - 400 g;
• feta - one small package;
• white bread crackers - 50 g;
• cherry tomatoes - six pieces;
• cucumber - one medium;
• sweet pepper - one large;
• pickled olives - 20 pieces;
• Yalta onion - one head;
• oregano - a dessert spoon;
• lettuce - ten pieces;
• honey - a dessert spoon;
• olive oil - five tablespoons;
• salt, pepper, oregano, lemon juice - to taste.

Cooking steps

1. Cook the chicken fillet and cut it into slices. Not small.
2. Coarsely chop all the vegetable ingredients and mix with chicken.
3. Manually tear lettuce leaves.
4. Yalta onion cut into large rings or half rings.
5. We mix all the prepared ingredients and season with a mixture of olive oil, lemon juice, honey and spices. Mix well.
6. Sprinkle with crackers - and immediately treat guests.

With shrimp and feta cheese

Feature. Cooking “Greek” salad with feta cheese and shrimp is not difficult. There are no fundamental changes in this author's recipe. Light texture and fragrant shrimp - a completely Mediterranean component - are simply added to the traditional set of ingredients. And feta is replaced with feta cheese - a more dense and familiar brine cheese for us.

You will need:

• tomatoes - 100 g;
• paprika - 100 g;
• cucumber - 100 g;
• red onion - one head;
• peeled small shrimp - 200 g;
• feta cheese - 150 g;
• olives - 100 g;
• olive oil, oregano, lemon juice - for dressing.

Cooking steps

1. We mix olive oil with lemon and oregano juice, add salt and pepper to the dressing, put it aside so that it has time to brew.
2. Cut the vegetables into medium sized cubes.
3. Onions with tiny quarters of rings.
4. We cut the feta cheese into small cubes.
5. Shrimp clear of shells and add to the common dishes.
6. Dress the salad and mix all the ingredients.

Yogurt dressing

Feature. If you want to season the “Greek” salad with something special and not quite traditional, prepare yogurt-based sauce. Garlic will give the salad a spicy flavor, and the yogurt base will add freshness. Not to mention the beneficial effects on the digestive system.

You will need:

• yogurt without fillers - half a cup;
• garlic - one clove;
• apple cider vinegar - a tablespoon;
• honey - a dessert spoon;
• salt and pepper to taste.

Cooking steps

1. We drown honey in a water bath.
2. Squeeze the garlic into it.
3. Pour the mixture into yogurt and add vinegar to the same.
4. Mix thoroughly, salt, pepper, whisk a little - and send the yogurt dressing in the refrigerator.
5. Flavor the dish immediately before serving.

Mediterranean Housewife Advice

Each Greek woman has her own secret of traditional salad. However, there are well-known principles for its preparation. Adhering to the five recommendations, you can easily create a dish “a la from the Greek tavern”.

1. Peelless Cucumbers. The Greeks believe that the cucumber must be peeled before sending it to the salad. This will make the texture of the snack more tender.
2. Red onion only. If the onions, according to the Greeks, it is exclusively red. No shallot? Take sweet Yalta as a worthy alternative.
3. Pre-cooling. Ideally, the salad should stand in the refrigerator for at least half an hour before being sent to the table.If there is no time, just refrigerate the dressing before flavoring the dish.
4. Bread "mattress". The inhabitants of Crete lay the bottom of the salad bowl with pieces of fresh bread. When the whole salad is eaten, bread saturated with juice remains at the bottom - a treat for connoisseurs.
5. Pink vinegar instead of lemon. If there is no lemon in the house, this ingredient can be safely replaced with grape vinegar. Only pink, not white.

The simple and simple recipe for “Greek” salad makes the dish an absolute hit of both a festive and everyday table. Snack personifies a rare combination of benefits, nutrition and perfect taste, which is relevant at any time of the year. Tomatoes saturate the rustic salad with vitamin C and turn it into a gastronomic "store" of antioxidants. That is why choriatics are a must eat for gourmets who care about health and are not indifferent to the state of their body.

Reviews: “The secret is in simplicity”

The “secret of Greek salad” is that it contains neither corn, nor crab sticks, nor even Calvet mayonnaise, although this of course may seem strange and not edible. It just cucumbers, tomatoes, olives, feta, olive oil and sprinkled with oregano.

Anonymoushttp://www.woman.ru/home/culinary/thread/2846273/

My husband, too, was not enthusiastic about the Greek salad, did not eat up, I also began to add chicken there, not separately, but in pieces, and I will say that this salad did not spoil at all and even gave it a new taste. Now in our house there is a female Greek salad and a male Greek salad.

Irina, http://www.arabio.ru/recept/salat/greece.htm

And in our restaurant they cook in a different way: chopped salad (we have romaine, but you can use any other), watered with Italian dressing (you can just use olive oil), cucumber on top (quarters of 3 mm), red bell pepper (straws), red onions (half rings), feta cheese, (diced), 3 slices of tomato, 2 heaps of chopped olives and 2 olives are placed on the edges of the plate. if we talk about grams, then one serving is 15 grams of red onion, 30 grams of cucumbers, 70 grams of lettuce, 10 grams of pepper, 30 ml of dressing, 30 grams of feta

Katya, https://gotovim-doma.ru/recipe/156-salat-grecheskii

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