Dine&Wine
Enjoyment tailored to the people and the gods All the secrets of Greek salad The Horiatiki salad is here to prove that less is more. Fresh, succulent tomatoes bathed in fragrant olive oil and decorated with feta cheese will compel you to fly straight to this culinary paradise
rural Greece. According to the or- igin story, this Greek national sal- ad was concocted by restaurateurs in Athens who wanted to charge more than was prescribed for a sim- ple salad of tomato and cucumber, the price of which was controlled by the government. Adding feta gave them the freedom to charge as much as they wanted. In the meantime, people all around the world started making Greek sal- ad to their heart’s content, but if you think Greek grandmothers aren’t giving you a sideways look, try respecting some of the follow- ing rules... • On behalf of all Greeks, please stop adding lettuce to your Greek salad. Lettuce, we love you, but there’s no place for you here! • Select the most succulent red tomatoes. Okay, you can also use cherry tomatoes if it’s winter and you’re desperately craving a Greek salad. • Feta is the Greek white cheese that’s made from sheep’s (or part goat’s) milk aged in brine. Only buy it in a block, never crumbled. • Only use top-quality extra vir- gin olive oil. And don’t forget that when a Greek recipe calls for a little olive oil, they mean that you should drown the dish – don’t skimp on the oil! Try to find wild oregano (if pos- sible, sourced from Greek moun- tains), shade-dried and stored in good condition. That really makes a difference. Gently rub the orega- no between your fingers, because the warmth of your hands will re- lease its essential oils. • Use only and exclusively kal- amata olives. Buy them unpitted, because otherwise they lose their firmness quickly. • Do it the islander way: Greek islands are full of capers, so Greek salads there are garnished richly with them. Try it out! • Last but not least, serve Greek salad with bread or, even better, with melba toast, crackers, crou- tons, anything crunchy that can be dunked in the juice at the bottom.
Greek cuisine is typi- cally Mediterranean , which implies light, healthy dishes inev- itably prepared with olive oil, the liquid gold of the Mediterranean. These dishes are rich in fresh vege- tables, fish, lean meats and cheeses. For the Greeks, food and drink rep- resent a ritual, a celebration of life, a desire to socialise with relatives and friends, to meet new people and philosophise on the most var- ied topics. The typical atmosphere that prevails in Greek restaurants, taverns and homes is relaxed, infor- mal and simple. The Western “eat and run” syndrome has yet to catch on in Greece. Here lunch and din- ner can last hours, and it’s a case of the more the merrier when it comes to how many people gath- er around the table. It is customary for Greeks to start every meal with an aperi- tif, most commonly the anise-fla- voured ouzo liquor or Tsipouro brandy, which contains an even
higher percentage of alcohol. Next come the appetisers, mezedakia, of which the Greeks are very proud. There are many of them, they are varied and it’s obligatory to share them. Seafood lovers can tuck in- to htapodi – small pieces of octo- pus, boiled or baked, with lemon juice, or psarosoupa – fish soup. The main course is usually meat, with the repertoire most often including lamb, fish, moussaka, pastitsio, but also offal, which Greeks prepare in a thousand different ways. The des- serts are also very varied. From tra- ditional Greek yoghurt with hon- ey and fruit, via cakes and buns, to those over which sweet syrup is poured, such as loukoumades. However, whatever you order, you certainly won’t overlook the simple yet indispensable essence of the Greek spread that is their “vil- lage” salad, which they are famous for around the culinary world. Al- though its name (horiatiki) means village in Greek, it wasn’t born in
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