Greek Salad

The word Greek salad leads people to believe that Greeks eat only one kind of salad. This is simply not true. I have very often come across Greek salads at restaurants that are not really served in Greece. They include tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, feta, kalamata olives, pepperoncini, green peppers, oregano, red wine vinegar, and olive oil.

Growing up in Greece this type of salad would not be possible to eat - tomatoes are harvested in the warm months, while lettuce is harvested in the cooler fall months. Since most greeks in Greece do not eat produce out of season the above salad is not offered.

Feta cheese is usually never placed in the salad, it usually gets its own serving plate, as do the olives. Pepperoncini? Haven't seen it used in greece.

Here's a typical salad that may be eaten in Greece:
- tomatoes (not seeded!)
- english cucumber
- red onion thinly slivered
- oregano
- extra virgin olive oil
- strong red wine vinegar
- salt
- a shot glass of ice cold water or ice cubes (the water mixes with the juice of the tomato/oil/vinegar and creates a delectable sauce to dip your bread into)

Here's another:
- lettuce chiffonade(romaine, escarole, whatever you like)
- freshly chopped dill
- evoo
- lemon juice
- salt
- olive

The point is that anything can be made into a greek salad as long as the produce is fresh and in season!