Horiatiki Salad (Greek Salad or Village Salad)

Horiatiki Salad, also known as Greek Salad or Village Salad, combines the freshest ingredients such as seasonal tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, red onions, tangy Kalamata olives and creamy feta. I served it with slightly spicy Greek chili peppers for an extra pop of flavor.

Greek salad is one of the most popular, but you might also try my Feta and Tomato Salad with Fresh Mint or the amazing Greek Panzanella with Lemon Garlic Vinaigrette.

What is Horiatiki Salad

Horiatiki saladOR village saladis what it is known in the United States as Greek salad. It is a very humble dish that uses fresh and simple ingredients. It is in season from late spring to early fall, when tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers are at their peak.

It’s now the end of July on the East Coast of the United States and the big, meaty tomatoes are just about ready to ripen… but they’re not quite there yet.

However, the little cherry tomatoes are taking over my tomato garden and they are super delicious too; that’s why I used them here in this recipe for mine Horiatiki salad.

I know this Horiatiki salad is supposed to have large chopped tomatoes on top of the bowl to marinate all the juices, but I’m a big believer in using whatever is in season. Hence the use of cherry tomatoes in this recipe. And you can pretty much find good quality cherry tomatoes all year round, so you might enjoy this salad all year round.

So, fast forward about 2 weeks and I’ll be using my beefsteak tomatoes for this incredibly simple salad. To be perfectly clear, a real Greek salad never contains lettuce!

What are the typical ingredients of the Greek Horiatiki salad

Here’s a list of what Greek salad contains:

Tomatoes;
Cucumbers;
Green peppers (not red or yellow);
Red onion;
Kalamata olives;
Good quality sheep’s milk feta (served in bulk and not crumbled);
Fragrant, good quality extra virgin olive oil (preferably from kalamata olives);
Red wine vinegar; &
Lots of dried oregano (preferably Greek dried oregano)!

Extra kick for a Greek salad

While this salad is perfect on its own, I decided to spice up every bite Greek Chillies. You can add them whole or you can chop them. If you prefer, you can buy them already cut. They add a little twist to this simple Horiatiki salad and I love them.

I have visited the Greek islands on a few occasions in my life, and every time I landed in Greece I wished I had my own Horiatiki salad right away. There’s nothing better than fresh vegetables tossed with super-scented olive oil, a splash of red wine vinegar and dried oregano.

At least that’s what I thought until I walked into a Greek tavern in New York, and they also served me my favorite Horiatiki salad with chili peppers. I was left speechless.

Since I always added peppers to mine Greek salads. Try it and let me know if you like it.

How to make Horatiki Salad

Step by step tutorial on how to prepare Greek salad:

Cut tomatoes and cucumbers;
Chop peppers and red onions;
Prepare peppers and olives;
Combine the veggies with olives and peppers, then pour the dressing over the top and top with a block of feta…then serve!

What to serve Horiatiki salad with

You can serve this humble Greek salad with just about anything: any of your favorite meats like lamb, chicken or burgers, fish and shellfish, or vegetarian dishes. Here are a couple of my suggestions:

More Greek recipes to try

2 cups Tomatoes halved or cut into cubes
2 cups Cucumber English, cubed
1 Pepper green, sliced
1/2 Red onion medium, sliced
1/2 cup Olives Kalamata
1/2 cup Chili Peppers
7 oz Feta cheese in a block

Get dressed

1/2 cup Olive oil extra virgin
2 table spoon Vinegar Red wine
1 teaspoon Dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper freshly ground

If you use cherry tomatoes, cut them in half. If using Roma or beefsteak tomatoes, cut them into 1-inch cubes;
Partially peel a cucumber and cut it into cubes, similar in size to tomatoes;
Cut the pepper and onion into thin slices or rings;
Place the vegetables in a bowl, then add the olives and chillies;
Combine all the dressing ingredients and pour them over the salad; then mix well and arrange on a serving plate;
Top the salad with a block of feta and serve immediately (or before) with crusty bread.

For this dressing I used a whole teaspoon of dried oregano because the salad should have plenty of it. If you find that you don’t like a lot of oregano, start with 1/2 teaspoon.

This post was originally published on August 1, 2017 and has since been updated to provide additional information.

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