What kind of cheese to put in a Greek salad. What kind of cheese is used in Greek salad

Greek salad- very tasty and healthy dish. Vegetables are cut into large pieces and seasoned with top quality olive oil, however, cooking recipes allow for variations that diversify the taste of Greek salad, make it interesting and unusual. Greek salad is delicious paired with a crispy baguette. It is necessary to prepare a salad in order to plunge into the Greek atmosphere at least a little.

What is in Greek Salad

Part classic version includes fresh cucumbers, tomatoes, Bell pepper, onion, olives, olive oil, lemon juice and seasoning salt. Most main ingredient in Greek salad - feta cheese.

The main herbs in the salad are oregano and basil. But do not be afraid of other seasonings and herbs. The dish will easily accept coarsely torn leaves. curly lettuce and not thick strips of wild garlic, lettuce works well. In some recipes, it certainly includes leaf lettuce.

Distinctive feature This salad is that cucumbers are peeled and all products are cut very large. It is also customary to mix it immediately before eating, and feta can be on a plate whole piece.

In Greece, for this they usually take the feta, which is almost not salty, looks more like cottage cheese and crumbles easily, so, while mixing the salad, they crumble it at the same time. Greeks put olives in a salad with a bone, of course, their own, Greek. Such a healthy and light (low-calorie) dish is prepared quickly. And many already know the real classic recipe Greek salad - it is simple and, on the other hand, piquant because of the Feta cheese (Fetaxa, Brynza) present in its composition.

How to cut vegetables for a Greek salad

1. Let's make a reservation right away - the dish is not laid out in layers, so the chopped ingredients can be put in a mixing bowl so as not to gain more dirty dishes;
2. Cucumbers and peppers are cut into large, at least half a centimeter, pieces. Half an onion is easiest to cut into thin half rings. It is best to use Crimean sweet or salad onions;
3. If you chose ordinary tomatoes, then we cut them into four parts, after which we chop each of the parts with plates. If your choice fell on cherry, then their destiny is to be cut into neat halves;
4. Olives are also cut in half (lengthwise);
5. The cheese is cut into cubes of 1-2 centimeters - depending on which size you prefer;
6. If there is fetax in your diet, we advise you to take a sharp thin knife so as not to crush tender pieces during cutting;
7. Brynza has more thick consistency, so there will be no problems with it;
8. Leaves can simply be torn by hand;
9. All ingredients are placed in a bowl.

“Everything ingenious is simple!” - I would like it to always be so. There are definitely perfect examples of this saying in cooking, one of them is Greek salad, the classic recipe of which we will describe step by step with a photo today.

Serving Greek Salad

And here comes the most important thing! It is easy and simple to prepare the dish, and it is served unmixed, feta cubes are on top. All seasonings are served separately, and these are:

• Half a lemon for each plate;
• Salt, black pepper;
• Olive oil cold first pressing.

Oil is best served in a separate damask ( festive option).

What do you eat Greek salad with?

First of all, in the composition classic salad must be included Greek cheese- soft, made from sheep and goat milk(for example, "Feta"). It cannot be spread on bread or cut thin slices. It appeared in ancient times, it is considered national Greek product. This cheese is included in the recipes of many dishes. mediterranean cuisine. Its feature is a pleasant curd smell.

Oil for dressing must be the first cold pressing: the package contains the mark "extra vergin". You need to fill it as follows: pour it in a thin stream over all the ingredients. For piquancy, you need to add spices - a mixture of herbs that can be found together with Greek goods: olives, black olives, oil. If you can not buy this seasoning, replace it with a mixture of " Italian herbs».

In general, this dish simple version village salad of the most base ingredients, which are in every house of the village Greek housewives. Therefore, we will cook according to the same principle that we have in the house from ingredients similar to those indicated in the recipes, then we will use it.

Despite his dietary composition and lightness, the salad is nevertheless quite nutritious due to olives and cheese, and thanks to tomatoes it is rich in vitamin C and antioxidants. It is for such a combination of qualities as low calorie, high content vitamins and microelements, as well as satiety, this salad is very much appreciated by the inhabitants of many countries, especially those who monitor their weight and try to adhere to the rules healthy eating.

Traditionally, this salad is eaten with toasted white bread, dipped in a wonderful mixture of olive oil, tomato juice and cheese, settled on the bottom of the bowl. And even if it doesn't follow the rules good manners, but the pleasure received from "ladobukies" ("oil-bearing bites") is simply indescribable! Apart from their palatability, the salad pleases us also magnificent appearance- bright, elegant, somewhere even festive. Most Greek taverns chefs, respecting the original source, do not make significant changes to the salad recipe, allowing themselves only occasionally to experiment with dressings.

Best Recipes Greek salad with photo and understandable step by step instructions- in this culinary collection.

How to eat Greek salad

Yes, to get the maximum pleasure, in Greece there is a special way of eating this salad:

• Break a large piece of feta cheese with a fork;
• Take a piece of feta, a tomato, and anything else that can fit in your mouth;
• If you want to be polite, you can put a serving on a plate. But all the charm and beauty of the salad is to eat it directly from the dish. You can create different combinations: tomato and feta, or cucumber, olive, or maybe onion? The combinations are endless. Why limit yourself to a small serving on your plate?
• In Greece, it is customary to dip bread in the leftover mixture of olive oil, tomato juice and feta crumbs. And these are not bad manners, but on the contrary, a sign that it was very tasty and you liked it.

First, we will describe the preparation of the salad according to the classic recipe with a photo step by step, and for a snack we will leave secrets, tricks and variations.

Greek salad - a classic recipe

This is a recipe for a classic Greek salad, which can be prepared and served without much effort and expense both for everyday and for festive table. You can also put blue cheese in the salad instead of feta cheese. The salad is so simple that it is prepared very quickly. Such unusual combination products gives unique taste. The classic composition is simple.

The main feature lies in one ingredient feta cheese. Cooking a dish has its own characteristics, which are expressed in the use of ingredients in large pieces, and not chopped.

Ingredients:

• Cucumbers - 2 pcs.;
• Tomatoes - 2 pcs.;
• Sweet bell pepper - 1 pc.;
• Salad, Crimean or onion- 1 PC.;
• Pitted olives - 15-20 pieces;
• Feta cheese - 100 g;
• Olive oil - 3 tbsp. l.;
• Lemon juice - 1 tbsp. l.;
• Dry oregano - 0.5 tsp;
• Salt, black ground pepper- taste.

Cooking method:

Like all salads, it is advisable to cook Greek salad in a transparent bowl.

1. Preparing salad dressing. To do this, we need to mix a ratio of 1 to 3. Where one part of lemon juice needs 3 parts of olive oil;
2. We combine these two ingredients in one bowl, mix and leave to infuse. In the meantime, we'll take care of the vegetables;
3. We wash them, and then cut the tomatoes into medium pieces;
4. Cut off the buttocks from the cucumbers and chop into equal parts. If suddenly the skin turns out to be thick, then it is better to peel it;
5. We take out the middle of the peppers, cut them into large pieces;
6. We clean the onion and cut into thin rings or half rings;
7. Feta cheese cut into equal squares;
8. We divide the olives with a knife in half;
9. Then only vegetables and olives are shifted into a deep bowl. We dress the Greek salad with our prepared dressing;
10. Add ground black pepper to taste and dried oregano. Mix thoroughly and only now spread the squares of cheese on top;
11. It is recommended to mix with cheese, as it will lose its beautiful appearance;
12. Salad is ready, serve it to the table! Bon appetit!

This is a classic salad recipe, but you can show your imagination in every possible way. The main thing is to follow key principle Greek culture that everything should be in moderation and nothing more is needed.

Video: Classic Greek Salad Recipe

Greek salad at home with a photo

The recipe always includes lettuce, onions and sweet peppers. Greek is a required key component traditional cheese feta.

The cooked dish is not always stirred before serving, but only before eating. Let's look at the basic way to prepare this salad at home.

Numerous options for Greek salad will make this dish in your performance always new.

Ingredients:

• Fresh small cucumbers - 5 pcs.;
• Fresh tomatoes - 3 pcs.;
• Sweet pepper - 1 pc.;
• Red onion - 1/2 pc.;
• Pitted olives - 10-15 pcs.;
• Feta cheese (brynza) - 150 g;
• Garlic - 2 cloves;
• Salt - 1 tsp;
• Lemon juice (wine vinegar) - 1 tbsp. l.;
• Olive oil - 4 tbsp. l.;
• Ground black pepper - 1/2 tsp;
• Dried oregano - 1/2 tsp

Cooking method:

1. Fresh cucumber cut into half circles;
2. Cut the tomatoes in half, cut out the stem. Cut each half into 5 more pieces;
3. To make the salad brighter and more beautiful, take peppers of two colors: red and yellow. Pieces of pepper should not be small;
4. Place all vegetables in a bowl and mix. Then transfer the vegetables to a dish in which they will be served at the table;
5. Cut half of the red onion into half rings, lay on top of the vegetables;
6. We're getting ready to ship. In a separate bowl, squeeze the garlic cloves through a press, add salt to taste, squeeze 1 tbsp from the lemon. l. juice, pour 4 tbsp. l. olive oil and sprinkle with ground black pepper. Mix everything. Refueling is ready;
7. Drizzle the dressing over all the vegetables in the dish. It is not necessary to mix;
8. Cut the feta cheese into 1-1.5 cm cubes. Put the cheese cubes on top of the salad and sprinkle with oregano;
9. Decorate the dish with olives. Bon appetit!

Greek salad - classic recipe with lettuce

Ingredients:

• Fleshy pepper - 1 pc.;
• Tomatoes - 2 pcs.;
• Large cucumber - 1 pc.;
• Lettuce leaves - 5 pcs.;
• Feta cheese - 100 g;
• Olive oil - 50 ml;
• Salt, pepper - to taste;
• Spices (oregano) - to taste.

Cooking method:

1. Cut the bell pepper into large pieces and put in a deep bowl;
2. Add chopped cucumbers to the pepper (You can cut into cubes, half rings or even rings), as well as tomatoes;
3. We tear lettuce leaves with our hands and send them to vegetables;
4. Add cheese;
5. We fill with oil. Add salt and spices to taste. Bon appetit!

Greek salad - a classic recipe with olives

Ingredients:

• Feta - 250 g;
• Tomatoes - 5 pcs.;
• Cucumbers - 3 pcs.;
• Sweet pepper - 2 pcs.;
• Onion - 1 pc.;
• Olives - 25 pcs.;
• Lemon - 0.5 pcs.;
• fresh greens- taste;
• Salt - to taste;
• Dried oregano - to taste;
• Olive oil - 6 tbsp. l.

Cooking method:

1. Wash the cucumbers, dry them and cut into large pieces;
2. Do the same with tomatoes - cut them into pieces of arbitrary shape;
3. Remove seeds from peppers. Cut into cubes or wide strips;
4. Peel the onion and cut into rings or half rings;
5. Take the olives out of the jar. Remove the bones - to do this, distribute each with the flat side of the knife. The bone is easily removed.

Greek salad recipe with cheese

Sirtaki cheese is often called a combination of 2 symbols of Greece - the Sirtaki dance and Feta cheese, it is made according to Greek technology from cow's milk, the snow-white cheese has an elastic structure, a delicate salty taste, a delicate aroma. Sirtaki cheese is an excellent addition to a salad.

Ingredients:

• Sirtaki cheese - 300 g;
• Tomatoes - 3 pcs.;
• Cucumber - 1 pc.;
• Red onion - 1 pc.;
• Sweet pepper (orange or yellow) - 1 pc.;
• Olives - 3 tbsp. l.;
• Pitted olives - 1 tbsp. l.

For refueling:

• Balsamic vinegar and olive oil - 2 tbsp. l.;
• Salt pepper;
• Dry oregano (oregano) - 1 tsp

Cooking method:

1. Wash vegetables and dry on a cloth towel;
2. Peel the cucumber, cut into circles;
3. Tomatoes - in slices, remove the seeds from the sweet pepper along with the partitions and cut the pepper into large strips;
4. Onion (red onion can be replaced with onion) cut into thin half rings;
5. Cut large olives into rings, cut small ones into quarters along, like boats;
6. At the Sirtaki cheese box, cut off the corners and cut the upper plane in the middle. Open the box, quickly turn over a flat plate, on which the cheese should stand in a whole piece;
7. In 3-5 minutes, the brine drains from the cheese, it must be drained, after which the cheese is cut into cubes, slightly larger than olives;
8. Put vegetables in a deep salad bowl;
9. Beat all the ingredients of the dressing (vinegar can be replaced with lemon juice) and pour over the vegetables with almost all the liquid;
10. Pour the sliced ​​cheese on top, garnish with pitted olives, then pour the rest of the dressing;
11. On the table in the presence of guests, gently mix the ingredients with Sirtaki cheese. Bon appetit!

Video: Real Greek salad

However, not everyone knows how to cook real Greek salad.

Greek salad - a salad popular all over the world comes from sunny Greece. But there are dishes like Greek.

Turkish Salad

Add lettuce, other spices, other herbs. Let it be not exactly a Greek salad, but a very tasty, summer salad, and we will still call it Greek.

Ingredients:

• boiled quail eggs- 7-10 pieces;
• Cherry tomatoes (or similar) - 7-10 pcs.;
• Cucumber - 1-2 pcs.;
• lettuce leaves;
• Parsley and dill, basil (optional);
• Any goat cheese;
• Black or green olives - 7-10 pieces;
• Olive oil;
• Salt, black and red pepper, dry mint (optional).

Cooking method:

1. Coarsely chop the leaves. You can take any kind of salad at will;
2. Coarsely chop the dill and parsley with a knife;
3. Put chopped greens on a wide dish, mix a little;
4. Cucumbers cut into large circles;
5. cherry (or other similar tomatoes small varieties) cut into 2 or 4 parts;
6. Goat cheese cut into cubes;
7. Peel quail eggs, then cut into 2 parts;
8. Put cucumbers, tomatoes, cheese cubes, quail eggs, whole olives on a “pillow” of fresh herbs and lettuce leaves;
9. On top, you can put a few leaves of basil or parsley. Salt, pepper, optionally add dry mint;
10. Season the salad with olive oil. Ready! Bon appetit!

Salad "Mediterranean"

Ingredients:

• Lettuce leaves - 100 g;
• Tomato - 2 pcs.;
• Carrots - 1/2 pc.;
• Onion - 1/2 pc.;
• Corn (need sweet) - 2 tbsp. l.;
• Green olives - 10 pcs.;
• Black olives - 10 pcs.;
• Chicken egg - 1 pc.;
• Tuna (Need canned) - 50 g.

Vinaigrette Sauce:

• Olive oil - 5 tbsp. l.;
• Vinegar (apple or white wine vinegar!!!) - 2 tbsp. l.;
• Mustard (spicy) - 1/2 tsp

Cooking method:

1. Posting lettuce leaves on a plate;
2. Cut the tomatoes into slices, and the onion into strips;
3. Spread on lettuce leaves;
4. Next comes the carrots cut into strips;
5. Next, an egg cut into four parts;
6. Then canned tuna and sweet corn. Attention - you need very little tuna - no more than a tablespoon per serving;
7. W we complete the assembly by laying olives on top;
8. Now it's up to the vinaigrette sauce. It is quite simple, pour olive oil into a cup - definitely NOT refined, tasty;
9. Use refined oil;
10. In the same cup we pour delicious fragrant white wine vinegar or the same fragrant apple. Just don't slosh an ordinary canteen - it contains nothing but acid. Not at hand good vinegar- use lemon juice;
11. Add mustard to the bowl. Yes, in classic sauce vinaigrette no mustard, but there are shallots and greens - parsley, tarragon. But now vinaigrette sauce is most often prepared with mustard;
12. 5-10 seconds of work with a whisk and the emulsion is ready. It remains to fill the salad;
13. ABOUT Be sure to season with salt and sprinkle with fresh coarsely ground pepper. Bon appetit!

Cretan Greek Salad

Ingredients:

• Tomato - 1 pc.;
• Cucumber - 1 pc.;
• Bulgarian pepper - 1 pc.;
• White onion - 1 pc.;
• Olives - 20 g;
• Olive oil - 2 tbsp. l.;
• Wine vinegar - 1 tsp;
• Oregano - 5 g;
• Feta - 200 g;
• Salt and pepper - to taste.

Cooking method:

1. A feature of the Cretan salad is that all the vegetables are cut very large, the vegetables are laid out in layers, but only mixed before use. Therefore, we cut the tomato into seven to eight slices, then put it in a bowl. The bowl should not be deep or completely flat. Normally salad in Crete is served in a bowl in which we would serve soup;
2. Bulgarian pepper is taken only green, namely green, not red, not yellow, what can you do, a tradition! Cut the pepper into thin circles. We spread the pepper to the tomatoes;
3. Cucumbers in Crete are usually peeled and only then cut into slices. We spread the cucumbers to the rest of the vegetables;
4. Even Cretan onions are fundamental - they traditionally use white, Cretan, it is very juicy and sweet. Cut the onion into rings, put the onion also in a bowl;
5. When all the vegetables are cut, a plate of homemade feta is laid out on top of them. Dried oregano is sprinkled on top of the feta;
6. W then the whole salad is poured with olive oil.

Served with fresh bread small skewers soufflia and french fries. Each eater spears vegetables from a common plate and breaks off a piece of feta from a large plate. This is what the Cretans do. The rest are simply mixed, add wine vinegar to taste. Bon appetit!

Greek olive salad recipe

The cuisine of Greece is vegetables, fruits, olives, olives, filled with the generous warmth of the sun, famous cheese Fetax and pickled cheese"Feta". Prepare a brightly colored salad with vegetables, eggs and olives.

Ingredients:

• Lettuce leaves - 50 g;
• Cucumber - 1 pc.;
• Red onion - 1/2 pc.;
• Olives - 30 pcs.;
• Feta cheese - 200 g;
• Olive oil - 70 ml;
• Wine vinegar - 2 tbsp. l.;
• Sugar - 1 tsp;
• Garlic - 1 clove;
• Lemon - 1 pc.;
• Salt and pepper - to taste.

Cooking method:

1. Chop the leaves and add to the bowl;
2. Then cut the tomatoes into large cubes and add to the salad bowl;
3. Then cut the onion into half rings, then add to the bowl;
4. We clean the cucumbers, cut into small cubes;
5. Cut the olives in half. Chop some of the olives and set aside for now. Finely chop the greens and after the cucumbers add all the other ingredients;
6. Mash the feta cheese with a fork until soft. Mix together with vegetables and olive halves. Mix everything well:
7. We prepare a dressing from olive oil, chopped olives, wine vinegar, crushed garlic clove and a teaspoon of sugar. All this is well mixed;
8. Add crushed olives. The sauce is ready!
9. Pour over vegetables, stir, then serve. Bon appetit!

Greek salad without onions

Ingredients:

• Cucumber - 2 pcs;
• Tomato - 2 pcs.;
• Bulgarian pepper - 1 pc.;
• Crimean bow (blue) - 1 pc.;
• Olives (pitted) - 20 pcs.;
• Feta cheese - 100 g;
• Oregano (oregano) - ½ tsp;
• olive extra oil virgin - 2-3 tbsp. l.;
• Lemon juice - 1-1.5 tbsp. l.;
• Salt, pepper - to taste.

Cooking method:

1. Cut tomatoes and cucumbers into large pieces (2-2.5 cm). Cucumbers can be peeled if the skin is too hard for you;
2. blue bow cut into rings or half rings. For families where raw onion treat with caution, cutting - thinner, quarters of the ring;
3. We clean the pepper from seeds and cut into large squares - about 2-2.5 cm;
4. Olives can be left whole. Very large - cut in half;
5. Pour the vegetables into a large bowl and mix gently. Two large spatulas will help. Salt, pepper - to taste, not forgetting how salted cheese use;
6. Beat olive oil with lemon juice - this is the sauce. Season and sprinkle with oregano - a pinch, slightly rubbing the grass in your fingers;
7. We cut the feta cheese into large pieces, comparable to slicing cucumbers, and spread them in a picturesque mess on top of the salad. The last pinch of oregano and you're done - amazing simplicity. Bon appetit!

Greek salad - a classic recipe without cucumbers

Ingredients:

• Feta - 150 g;
• Tomato - 1 pc.;
• Bulgarian pepper - 1 pc.;
• Parsley - 1 bunch;
• Green chili pepper - 1 pc.;
• Olive oil - 200 g;
• Dried garlic - 1/2 tsp;
• Salt - to taste;
• Ground black pepper - to taste;
• Paprika - 1/2 tsp;
• Thyme - 1/2 tsp;
• Basil - 1/2 tsp;
• Oregano - 1/2 tsp

Cooking method:

1. To begin with, we will prepare the vegetables, namely, wash them, and then clean them. Peppers from the seeds inside, cut off the stalk from the tomato;
2. Also wash the parsley well. After that we cut Green pepper rings, tomatoes and bell pepper into medium-sized pieces, finely chop the parsley;
3. Now let's take a look at the marinade, which we will fill our salad with. To do this, pour olive oil into a container, add garlic powder, salt, pepper, and spices such as ground paprika, dried thyme, basil and oregano. All these ingredients are thoroughly mixed until uniform;
4. The next step in cooking is feta cheese. It's soft and tender cheese, which has a characteristic sour taste, and does not interrupt the taste of vegetables. So, we do not cut feta, as is customary in traditional version, and put it entirely in a baking dish;
5. We thoroughly grease the cheese with our marinade on top, and put chopped vegetables around, which we also pour a little marinade on. After that, we put our dish in a preheated oven, bake for 10-15 minutes;
6. After the specified time has elapsed, we take out the feta with vegetables from the oven and carefully transfer it to a plate in which we will serve our dish. Then add olives. In this option, we recommend using dried olives;
7. Sprinkle the salad with chopped parsley on top. This option will diversify your menu and give family and guests a good impression with its incredible aroma, appetizing look and, of course, rich original taste. Bon appetit!

Video: Greek salad - classic

But also original natural cheeses. Many of them have a limited shelf life and are not exported abroad.

To get acquainted with a truly magnificent "palette" of Greek cheeses, it is best to dedicate part of the holiday to tasting. Only in this way you can get the most complete picture of their features. Besides, this perfect way decide which cheese to bring home from Greece.

Feta

Among the natural and useful local products feta occupies a special place. This traditional Greek cheese accompanies many. They especially like to add it to salads and pies. And it is also believed that it contributes to good digestion, although its list valuable properties this is not limited.

Feta is made from a mixture of goat and sheep milk. Depending on the variety, it has a different fat content (40-60%) and hardness, which significantly affects the taste. It can be more or less salty, spicy, spicy. The consistency may also vary. As a rule, it is homogeneous, soft and moist, but crumbly. Interestingly, cheese is often sold directly in barrels with brine - this is a typical situation for Greek markets, as well as some shops.