Greek Village Salad Recipe

1. Prepare vegetables

Wash all produce. Core tomatoes and cut into large wedges (about 6 wedges per tomato). Peel the cucumber if desired and slice lengthwise then cut into 1/2-inch thick half-moons. Trim stem and seeds from the green bell pepper, then cut into 1/2-inch strips. Peel the red onion, halve it pole to pole, then thinly slice into half-moons. Place prepared vegetables in a large shallow salad bowl.

2. Add olives and feta

Add the Kalamata olives to the bowl. Break the feta cheese into large rough chunks with your hands (or cut into 1/2-inch cubes) and place on top of the salad. Sprinkle the chopped fresh parsley, dried oregano, coarse sea salt, and freshly ground black pepper over the vegetables and feta.

3. Toss and rest

Hold off on tossing until dressing is added. Let the assembled salad rest at room temperature while you finish the dressing for 5 minutes to let flavors relax.

4. In a small bowl or jar, finely mince the garlic clove (or grate on a microplane). Add the red wine vinegar, fresh lemon juice, Dijon mustard, and honey if using. Whisk briefly to combine. Slowly drizzle in the extra-virgin olive oil while whisking constantly to emulsify the dressing. Taste and adjust seasoning — add up to an additional 1/4 tsp salt or a pinch more black pepper if desired.

5. Pour the dressing evenly over the salad just before serving. Using two large spoons, gently toss the salad to coat vegetables and distribute feta and olives, taking care to keep some larger feta pieces intact for presentation.

6. Serve immediately at room temperature. If not serving right away, cover and refrigerate for up to 1 hour; bring back to room temperature before serving to restore flavor.