Greek Salad
- 3/4 pound crunchy cucumbers without big seeds (preferably a few varieties), peeled and cut into irregular 3/4-inch pieces
- Generous 1 pound mixed heirloom tomatoes, halved, cored, trimmed of any pale bits, and cut into irregular 1-inch pieces
- 1/4 pound cherry tomatoes (about 3/4 cup), halved through the stem end if large
- 2 slender spring onions, green tops and root ends trimmed, bulbs cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds and separated into rings (about 1/2 cup)
- 2 tablespoons Banyuls vinegar (available at specialty shops and online)
- 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- Maldon or another flaky sea salt
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 20 or so Nicoise olives, firmly pressed with the flat of a knife and pitted
- A five-finger pinch of mint leaves (preferably black mint)
- 5 ounces creamy feta cheese (preferably goat feta)
- Put the cucumbers and tomatoes in separate bowls and pop them in the fridge just until they're cold, about 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, add the onions to a small bowl.
- Add the vinegar, 2 tablespoons of the oil, and a healthy pinch of salt, and mix well with your hands.
- Let the onions sit just until they get pickly, a few minutes.
- In a separate small bowl, stir together the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil, the lemon juice, and a good pinch of salt until the mixture looks creamy.
- Combine the tomatoes and cucumber in one bowl, pour in the lemon dressing, and toss gently but well.
- Grab a large platter (or 4 to 6 plates) and make a pretty layer of cucumbers and tomatoes, so the colors and types of the vegetables are well divvied up.
- Give the onions one more toss, then use your hands to add them (reserving their pickly liquid) here and there over the cucumbers and tomatoes.
- Scatter on the olives and mint.
- Use your hands to crumble the feta into pieces large, medium, and small as you scatter it on top.
- Finally, drizzle on the liquid remaining in the onion bowl.
- Eat straightaway.
- Photo by David Loftus
cucumbers, generous, tomatoes, onions, banyuls vinegar, extravirgin olive oil, salt, lemon juice, nicoise olives, fivefinger, feta cheese
Taken from www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/greek-salad.html (may not work)