Horiatiki Village Salad with Feta (Authentic Greek Recipe)

The classic unlettuced Greek salad — tomato, cucumber, onion and a proud slab of feta — is proof that the best Mediterranean food is about ingredients, not technique. This is horiatiki, the village salad, exactly as it is served across the islands.

It’s one of the 20 recipes inside our Greek Cookbook, and we’re sharing it in full so you can taste the standard before you buy the book. There is no cooking at all — just good produce, real Greek feta and a confident hand with the olive oil.

Why this recipe works

Salting the tomatoes first pulls out their juice, which mingles with the olive oil and vinegar to become the dressing itself — no whisking required. Soaking the shaved onion in ice water tames its sulphuric bite while keeping the crunch, and serving the feta as a whole slab keeps it creamy instead of drying out in crumbled shards.

Ingredients

Salad

• 3 ripe vine tomatoes (about 450g), cut in irregular wedges
• 1 small Mediterranean cucumber, sliced in 1cm half-moons
• ½ small red onion, shaved paper-thin
• 1 green bell pepper, sliced in thin rings

Dressing & finish

• 1 slab (150g) Greek feta PDO, left whole
• 4 tbsp cold-pressed Greek extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp dried oregano (rigani) + flaky sea salt

Optional garnish

• 6 Kalamata olives with pits

Serves 2 · Prep 15 min · Cook 0 min · 385 kcal per serving

Instructions

1. Salt the tomatoes. Place tomato wedges in the serving bowl, sprinkle lightly with flaky salt and let them sit 5 minutes. This draws out juice that becomes the base of the dressing, just like on the islands.
2. Tame the onion. Soak the shaved red onion in ice water for 5 minutes to mellow its bite, then drain thoroughly and pat dry. This keeps the crunch while removing the sulphuric sharpness that dominates the salad otherwise.
3. Layer without tossing. Scatter cucumber, pepper rings and drained onion over the tomatoes. Do not toss; a proper horiatiki is arranged, not mixed, so every ingredient keeps its identity on the plate.
4. Crown and dress. Place the whole slab of feta on top, crown with olives and dust generously with oregano crushed between your palms. Pour olive oil and vinegar directly over the cheese so it runs down through the vegetables.

Chef’s tip

Never crumble the feta. Serving it whole is the signature of a village salad, and diners break off shards with their fork as they eat.

Get the full Greek Cookbook

Loved this one? It’s a single recipe from a 20-strong collection of Greek cooking built the same way — clear ingredients, honest technique, no guesswork. Grab the full Greek Cookbook below.