Greek Salad facts for kids

A yummy Greek salad, also called χωριάτικη σαλάτα.

A Greek salad (in Greek: χωριάτικη σαλάτα, which means 'country' or 'village salad') is a famous dish from Greece. It's often served as part of a traditional Greek meal. This salad is super popular in both Greece and Cyprus. People love it because it's light, refreshing, and easy to make. It's especially a hit during the warm summer months.

The real Greek salad is mainly a tomato salad. It's made with sliced or chopped tomatoes, a few slices of cucumber, and red onion. It's usually seasoned with salt, black pepper, and oregano. Then, it's drizzled with olive oil. Sometimes, people add feta cheese, bell peppers, capers, anchovies, sardines, or kalamata olives. What you won't find in a true Greek salad are lettuce or vinegar.

There's another popular Greek salad called μαρούλι (pronounced mah-ROO-lee), which means "lettuce." This one is different! It's popular in autumn and spring. It's made with thinly sliced lettuce, scallions, and fresh dill. It's dressed with salt, black pepper, olive oil, and either red wine vinegar or lemon juice.

What is a Greek Salad?

The Original Greek Salad

The traditional Greek salad, or horiatiki salata, is a simple yet delicious dish. It focuses on fresh, natural ingredients. The main parts are ripe tomatoes, crisp cucumbers, and sharp red onions. These are often cut into chunky pieces.

For flavor, people add a sprinkle of salt, black pepper, and fragrant oregano. A generous drizzle of good quality olive oil brings all the flavors together. It's common to see a big slice of creamy feta on top. Sometimes, a few dark olives are added too.

Ingredients You Might Find

Besides the main ingredients, other tasty additions can include:

• Bell peppers (often green)
• Capers (small, pickled flower buds)
• Small fish like anchovies or sardines
• Kalamata olives, which are dark purple and almond-shaped

Remember, if you see lettuce or a lot of vinegar, it's probably not the traditional Greek salad!

Greek Salad Around the World

A Greek salad you might find at a supermarket.

An American-style "Greek" salad, often served with lettuce.

In places like North America, Australia, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, the term "Greek salad" often means something a bit different. It's usually a lettuce salad that has some Greek-inspired ingredients. The dressing is typically a mix of vinegar and oil.

Lettuce, tomatoes, feta cheese, and olives are common in these salads. You might also find cucumbers, bell peppers, onions, radishes, dolmades (stuffed grape leaves), anchovies, or pickled hot peppers. For example, in Detroit, Michigan, a "Greek salad" often includes beets!

These salads often use special dressings with different herbs and seasonings. This style of "Greek salad" is not very common in Greece itself. You might only find it in homes of Greek-Americans or restaurants that serve tourists. To avoid confusion, the true Greek salad in these countries might be called "horiatiki" (ho-ree-AH-tee-kee), "country salad," "peasant salad," or "village salad."

Greek Salad in Europe

Greek salad is also popular in other European countries.

• In Germany, it's often called Bauernsalat, which means farmers' salad.
• In France, it's salade à la Grecque.
• In Hungary, it's görög saláta.
• In Spain, it's ensalada griega.

Over the last century, many different salads have been called "Greek" in English. Some of these have old connections to Greek cooking. For instance, a 1938 American recipe for "Greek salad" included lettuce with mayonnaise, shredded cabbage, carrots, and diced smoked herring.

Other Greek Salads

Greek cuisine has many different kinds of salads. Each region or village in Greece might have its own special salad. While the horiatiki is the most common, here are a few others:

• Cabbage salad (Lahanosalata): This is like a coleslaw. It's dressed with olive oil, lemon juice, and garlic.
• Beetroot salad (Pantzarosalata): Made with sliced beetroots, sometimes with their greens. It's dressed with olive oil and red wine vinegar.
• Rocket salad (Arugula): Dressed with olive oil and red wine vinegar or lemon juice. It can sometimes include anchovies.
• Potato salad (Patata salata): Made with olive oil, thinly sliced onions, and lemon juice or vinegar.
• Chickpea salad (Revithosalata): A salad made from chickpeas.
• Parsley salad ("Maintanouri"): This is mostly a condiment, meaning it's used to add flavor to other dishes.
• Cypriot salad: From the island of Cyprus, this salad is very similar to the Greek salad from Greece. It has finely chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, green bell peppers, and flat-leaf parsley.

Some dips and spreads in Greek cooking are also called 'salad' in Greek.

• Melitzanosalata (μελιτζανοσαλάτα): This is an eggplant puree. It includes olive oil, red wine vinegar, flat-leaf parsley, and garlic.
• Taramosalata (ταραμοσαλάτα): This dip is made from fish roe (eggs) mixed with lemon juice, onions, olive oil, and either breadcrumbs or mashed potato.

Images for kids

• 

  Cretan salad

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  Horiatiki salad served in the Dodecanese islands.

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  Greek salad in Thessaloniki.

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  Horiatiki salad served with moussaka in Laconia, Peloponnesus.

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  Greek salad as served in other countries. Notice the feta cheese is in cubes instead of one big piece, and there's more onion.

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  Greek-inspired salad served in Copenhagen, Denmark.

See also

In Spanish: Ensalada griega para niños