Tomato and Cucumber Salad with Feta Cheese
Angourodomatosalata me Feta
Region: Greece
Category: Salads
Season: Summer
Difficulty: Easy

At the end of the workday Greek men gather in tavernas to drink ouzo, wine, or beer and eat a variety of mezedes, small dishes of specially prepared foods to be eaten with drinks. Although this preparation is often served as a straightforward salad in Greece, it is popular too as a meze. Greek feta cheese is a soft, white cheese made by mountain shepherds from goat or ewe's milk whose curd, once solidified from rennet, is placed in wooden barrels or boxes to drain and is then rubbed with salt and sold in a salted brine. In the United States, feta cheese is made from cow's milk, while the imported varieties from Greece, Bulgaria, and former Yugoslav republics are made from sheep's milk. Be sure that this dish is served at room temperature. Interestingly, the tomato used in this salad was not always there, for the tomato was not adopted wholeheartedly in Greece until the nineteenth century.

Yield: Makes 6 small servings
Preparation Time: 10 minutes

8 ripe, but firm, plum-size tomatoes (about 1 1/4 pounds), sliced     2 cucumbers, peeled, cut in half lengthwise, seeded and sliced     1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded and sliced		1/2 pound feta cheese, crumbled in large chunks     12 imported black Kalamata olives
For the dressing:
1/4 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil       Juice from 1/ 2 lemon     2 tablespoons red or white wine vinegar		1 garlic clove, peeled and chopped     3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint leaves       Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1. In a large bowl, toss the tomatoes, cucumbers, green pepper, feta cheese, and black olives together.

2. In a small bowl, whisk the olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, garlic, and mint together and pour over the salad. Toss to coat evenly and season with salt and pepper. Toss again and serve at room temperature.

Posted: 01/10/2007