What is the best cheese for a Greek salad? original recipes

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

It's hard to find a person who has never tried a Greek salad, because for this it is not at all necessary to go to his homeland. This delicious and he althy dish can be prepared at home. To do this, you just need to know what kind of vegetables it includes, what it is dressed with and what kind of cheese is in the Greek salad? Now it's up to you to find the right recipe.

The history of Greek salad

In Greece, the birthplace of this famous salad, it is considered rustic. And all thanks to such an uncomplicated composition. Fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet peppers, onions, olives, olive oil and village cheese "Feta" were the very staples in the diet of ordinary peasants. But the story of the appearance of the salad itself on the table of the Greeks is connected with one curious case.

The fact is that back in the 19th century, vegetables, such as tomatoes and even onions, were usually eaten whole, biting off a piece and eating bread or cheese. And only in 1909 onean emigrant originally from Greece, returning from America to his home, decided to chop the usual products and combine them together. The reason for this was a bad tooth, which did not allow the young man to bite off whole vegetables.

Later, his sister, who also liked this dish, decided to serve it to guests at a village wedding. The success was stunning. And so the first and original recipe for Greek salad with Feta cheese appeared. Now he is famous not only in Greece, but also far beyond the borders of this sunny country.

Cheese for Greek salad: name, description

According to the Greeks themselves, a salad that does not use feta can no longer be called Greek. This cheese has long been the hallmark of Greece. It is made only in this country, exclusively in certain areas, for example, on the island of Crete, in Macedonia and some others.

Feta is a soft, s alty, light-colored cheese made from sheep's and goat's milk. For its fermentation, a special rennet enzyme, renin, is used. A prerequisite for making cheese is a certain ratio of milk: 70% sheep and 30% goat. Nothing else is added, no preservatives, no dyes.

The technology of making cheese has remained unchanged for many years. First, an enzyme is added to the milk, thanks to which it is fermented to form a mass resembling cottage cheese. Then it is pressed into special pieces. After that, the formed mass is soaked in a special brine in wooden barrels.two more months. This is how the same cheese for Greek salad is obtained, the name of which is translated from Italian as "piece". Feta is the most famous and popular soft cheese in the world.

Original salad dressing

According to the classic "rustic" recipe, Greek salad is dressed only with olive oil. With only a small addition. Lemon juice and herbes de Provence are added to high-quality extra virgin olive oil to create the necessary fragrant bouquet and unique taste.

Salad dressing should always be prepared in advance so that all its components are connected to each other, and it has time to infuse and soak in their smells. For her you will need: 70 ml of olive oil, juice of half a lemon (can be replaced with a tablespoon of wine or balsamic vinegar), aromatic herbs (oregano, thyme or Provence).

Therefore, not only on what kind of cheese will be present in the Greek salad, but also on the dressing itself, the true taste of the dish depends. Now it remains to collect all the ingredients together and proceed directly to the cooking process.

Classic Greek salad recipe

There are also secrets in the preparation of Greek salad that must be taken into account. It seems that it is difficult here: chop vegetables and soft cheese, season them and mix thoroughly. But it's not like that at all. The original recipe for Greek salad with Feta cheese does not involve mixing the ingredients, but layering themlaying down.

To prepare this dish you will need the following ingredients:

• 4 medium sized tomatoes;
• 2 cucumbers;
• 1 large green bell pepper;
• ½ onion heads (sweet, purple);
• 150g feta;
• 8 black olives;
• some capers;
• dressing prepared according to the recipe above.

All salad ingredients are cut into large pieces and stacked in layers in a certain sequence.

1. Cut cucumbers: small slices, large ones again in half. Put on the bottom of the salad bowl.

2. Peel the pepper from the core and cut into half rings. Arrange over cucumbers.

3. Tomatoes are peeled and cut into four parts.

4. The onion is cut into half rings. After that, it must be washed in cold water to remove bitterness. Squeeze the onion and put it next, after the tomatoes, in a layer.

5. The dish is decorated with capers and olives, which do not need to be pre-cut.

6. Dress salad, do not stir.

7. Top with a whole piece of cheese and drizzle with the remaining dressing.

8. Just before serving, s alt, pepper and toss the Greek salad. Feta cheese is carefully broken into large pieces.

This is how Greek salad is prepared in his homeland. However, many chefs in different countries have long gone from the traditional recipe, and offer restaurant visitors a dish, consisting ofwhich is already other types of cheese.

What can replace Feta cheese in a Greek salad?

If you can't find feta before preparing the Greek salad, you can try replacing it with another pickled cheese. Cheese has a similar taste. This cheese is also suitable for Greek salad, as it is also soaked in brine, but, unlike feta, it does not crumble as much and is more compressed, so it will still have to be chopped when added to a dish.

Cheese has a more s alty taste. For a Greek salad, cheese of this kind is less suitable only in the sense that the dish is very easy to overs alt. To prevent this, the cheese must be soaked for several hours in cold boiled water. This will make it less s alty and more like traditional Greek cheese.

There are other options for replacing feta. Often in recipes, Greek cheeses sirtaki and fetax are used. Both have a pronounced s alty taste, so use them in recipes with caution. Otherwise, you can overs alt the dish, which, as a result, spoil it.

Greek salad with Fetax cheese: step by step recipe

This is no longer the original Greek salad recipe. And it's not just a different kind of cheese. Lettuce leaves are used instead of onions. The rest of the ingredients are similar. The recipe for Greek salad with Fetax cheese requires the following components: tomatoes (2 pcs.), Cucumbers (2 pcs.), Bulgarian pepper, lettuce, olives, fetax (150 g), olive oil (30 ml), s alt.

Step by step recipe:

1. Cucumbers, tomatoes and bell pepper cut into large pieces.

2. Tear lettuce leaves with your hands.

3. Cut the fetax into large cubes. It has a dense texture, so unlike feta, it will not crumble.

4. Olives can be cut in half or added whole to a salad.

5. Mix all the ingredients in one salad bowl, season with olive oil and s alt to taste.

The above recipe for Greek salad with Fetax cheese is in no way inferior in taste to the classic version. If desired, you can change the salad dressing by adding lemon juice and aromatic spices to the olive oil.

Greek salad with Sirtaki

Departing from the original recipe, you can cook no less delicious salad, but with a different cheese. Sirtaki also comes from Greece, but they also learned how to successfully cook it in Russia from cow's milk. It is denser in texture than feta. It cuts well into cubes, does not crumble.

Recipe for Greek salad with Sirtaki cheese involves the use of tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet peppers, olives, olive oil and fresh basil. It is customary to chop all the ingredients coarsely so that you can feel the taste of each of them. The salad is dressed with fresh olive oil and basil (½ bunch) or dry (1 teaspoon). Sirtaki is a s alty cheese, so s alt is added at the very last moment when dressing the salad. Otherwise, the dish may bespoiled.

Greek salad recipe with Sirtaki cheese is a great alternative to the traditional cooking option. It can be served both on the festive table and for breakfast.

Mozzarella in Greek salad

A tasty and he althy dish of fresh vegetables can be prepared with the addition of Italian mozzarella. It has a dense texture, but at the same time it has a delicate s alty taste. For a Greek salad, Mozzarella cheese is no worse than sirtaki or fetax.

This recipe uses the same ingredients as the ones above. Tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, olives, soft cheese and olive oil are essential components of the salad. But whether to add onions depends on the excellent preferences of the cook.

Greek salad dressed with a traditional dressing of olive oil, lemon juice and Provence herbs.

Greek salad with Adyghe cheese

Real Greek cheese from sheep's milk can not be found in every store. Of course, they learned how to make it in Russia from cow's milk. But the taste of such cheese (feta, sirtaki or fetax - it doesn’t matter) is not at all the same, and the price is still high. How to find a way out?

There is another option that is ideal for a Greek salad - Adyghe cheese. It is more insipid in taste, but with skillful preparation of the dressing, it may well replace more expensive cheeses. The rest of the recipecooking Greek salad remains unchanged.