Summer is all about big fresh bowlfuls of food and zingy salads that celebrate the best seasonal produce available. Greek salad is an absolute classic dish, which is easy to whip up and is the perfect partner for BBQs or al fresco feasting.
Greek salad is an authentic Greek dish, which is completely yummy and a fantastic addition to your dinner table or picnic/buffet spread.
You’ll find a few variations of the traditional recipe online. Generally it is made with some combination of tomatoes, cucumber, feta cheese, olives, red onion, oregano and olive oil.
For my gluten free Greek salad I omitted the red onion as I don’t like the harsh taste, and a Greek friend has reassured me this adaptation is completely acceptable.
It’s the oregano-feta-tomato combo that is the holy grail of this dish, she tells me! She tells me that you should absolutely add as much oregano as you like, so feel free to increase the quantity specified in my recipe if you like :).
I’ve chosen to use kalamata olives, a wonderful Greek purple olive with a distinctive flavour and the variety traditionally found in Greek salad. I could eat these by the bowlful!
Kalamata olives are juicy and wonderful and you should be able to find them both jarred and fresh in your local supermarket. I used jarred as I find them easy to have in the fridge, to grab whenever I need to use a few.
You can easily sub in a different olive variety if you prefer, but kalamata olives really do lend some magic to this dish. The next best sub would be any other kind of dark olive.
The recipe below serves two people. Simply multiply the quantities to make this into a large sharing side dish, or make the quantity specified for an easy lunch.
If serving solo, try it with some gluten free flatbread, maybe throw in some pea hummous and my lean chicken kebabs too!
Any leftovers can be stored in the fridge for a day or two, covered in a bowl or in a tupperware box.
Greek Salad (Serves 2)
Greek Salad
Ingredients
- Half a cucumber (approx 100g/3.5 oz)
- 140g (5oz) fresh tomatoes - baby plum tomatoes or large vine tomatoes are ideal
- 100g (3.5oz) Greek feta cheese
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp white wine vinegar
- 100g (3.5oz) kalamata olives
Instructions
- Chop the cucumber, tomato and feta into small bitesized chunks and place in a large bowl.
- Add the olives to the salad and mix everything together.
- Sprinkle the dried oregano over the salad, then dress with the white wine vinegar and olive oil. Give all the salad a really good stir and leave to sit for a few minutes before serving, to help the flavour of the oregano infuse into the ingredients. Easy peasy!
If you have more time, you can pop it in the fridge for a couple of hours or even overnight to help the flavours develop nicely. It's a great salad to make in advance if you are preparing it as a side dish for a party buffet spread or group dinner.
I recently served this with a little fresh mint from my garden sprinkled on top. It was beautiful and although not in keeping with the authentic Greek salad recipe, I’d recommend it as a lovely fresh twist.
You can prepare this gluten free Greek salad in advance, then simply leave it covered in the fridge to stay chilled.
If you enjoyed this salad idea, why not try one of my other gluten free spring summer recipes:
Enjoy! x
