This is one of those dishes where there is nowhere to hide. No real cooking, no big technique, no heavy sauce. Just a handful of ingredients and a really good dressing. My version isn’t strictly traditional, but it’s pretty close to it.
For me, the key to a good Greek salad is not overcomplicating things. You want ultra ripe, juicy tomatoes, plenty of acidity, good olive oil, salty capers and olives, fresh herbs and a block of feta broken over the top by hand. The dressing should be sharp and savoury, with a little caper brine to bring everything together.
The beauty of this salad is that once you mix everything together, the natural juices from the vegetables draw out into the bowl to give you this amazing Greek salad liquor that makes it taste so good.
Now then, let’s get into it.
A few things to know before you start
Tomatoes: Use the best tomatoes you can find. Heirloom tomatoes are ideal because they bring sweetness, acidity and texture, but adding coloured cherry tomatoes gives the salad a nice pop and a bit more variety.
Olives: I like using both Kalamata and Nocellara. Kalamata bring that deep, briny flavour, while Nocellara are greener, buttery and a little sweeter. Layers.
Caper brine: This is a small detail but it makes a difference. It adds acidity, salt and savouriness to the dressing without making it feel heavy.
Feta: Break up the feta into large rustic chunks over the top. Crumbling it too finely makes the salad feel messy and you lose that nice contrast of creamy feta against the sharp vegetables.
Croutons: Optional, but I like adding chunky, crunchy croutons and mixing once they’re in the bowl - they soak up the dressing so well and still retain some crunch.
