Greek recipe

Horiatiki

Name: Horiatiki
Prep time: 20 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Greek cuisine
Ingredients: 800 g ripe tomatoes; 300 g cucumber; 150 g green bell pepper; 100 g red onion; 200 g feta, in one slab; 120 g Kalamata olives; 60 ml extra-virgin olive oil; 20 ml red-wine vinegar; 2 g dried Greek oregano; 4 g fine salt

The classic Greek village salad uses large pieces of ripe tomato, cucumber, green pepper and onion under a slab of feta, olives, oregano, olive oil and a little vinegar. There is no lettuce and no thick emulsified dressing.

Greece-wide village-salad tradition

Prep: 20 min
Cook: 0 min
Total: 20 min
Servings: 4

Greek horiatiki village salad with feta slab, tomato, cucumber and olives — **Real finished-dish photograph**Photograph by User:JpatokalSource page · Original file · CC BY-SA 4.0Cropped, resized, and compressed by Recipe Nest Vault.

Ingredients

800 g
ripe tomatoes
300 g
cucumber
150 g
green bell pepper
100 g
red onion
200 g
feta, in one slab
120 g
Kalamata olives
60 ml
extra-virgin olive oil
20 ml
red-wine vinegar
2 g
dried Greek oregano
4 g
fine salt

Method

01
Cut the tomatoes into wedges
Core the tomatoes and cut them into large 30–40 mm wedges over the serving bowl so none of their juice is lost.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
02
Prepare cucumber, pepper and onion
Cut the cucumber into 10 mm half-moons, the pepper into 5 mm rings and the red onion into 3 mm half-rings. Add all three to the tomatoes.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
03
Season the vegetables lightly
Sprinkle the vegetables with all 4 g salt and the 20 ml vinegar. Toss gently 4–5 times and let stand for 5 minutes so a little tomato juice forms the base of the dressing.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
04
Add feta, olives and oregano
Place the 200 g feta slab over the vegetables, scatter the olives around it and crush the 2 g oregano between your fingers over the feta.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
05
Pour over olive oil and serve
Pour all 60 ml olive oil over the feta and vegetables immediately before serving. Do not remix aggressively; spoon the tomato-oil juices from the bottom over each portion.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph

Practical notes

Tips

Use ripe tomatoes and crisp cucumber at serving temperature; the salad depends more on ingredient quality than technique.
Salt the vegetables lightly before the feta goes on top because feta and olives already contribute substantial salinity.

Common mistakes

Cutting the vegetables too small turns a rustic village salad watery and makes the feta dominate each bite.
Heavy emulsified dressing masks the tomato juices; olive oil, vinegar and oregano should remain simple.

Substitutions

Use another brined sheep-and-goat cheese only when true feta is unavailable; keep it in a solid slab rather than crumbling finely.
Kalamata or other good brined olives can be used according to availability, preferably with the pits removed at the table.

Storage

For best texture serve immediately. Refrigerate any undressed vegetables at 0–4°C for up to 1 day; once dressed with salt, oil and feta, eat the same day.

Cultural context

Horiatiki literally means “village” or “country-style.” Its familiar Greek form is deliberately simple: seasonal vegetables, feta, olives, oregano and olive oil, without lettuce.

Sources and photo credit

This standardized method was independently rewritten after cross-checking the references below. Recipe Nest Vault does not claim that the credited photographer cooked from this exact version.

Recipe references

Greece Food Horiatiki — Photograph by User:Jpatokal; CC BY-SA 4.0.

Step illustrations: Original illustrations created by Recipe Nest Vault with OpenAI image_gen.

Back to Greek recipes

Horiatiki

Ingredients

Method

Cut the tomatoes into wedges

Prepare cucumber, pepper and onion

Season the vegetables lightly

Add feta, olives and oregano

Pour over olive oil and serve

Sources and photo credit

Recipe references

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