On Horiatiki Salad

What is the “Horiatiki” in Horiatiki Salad?

I used an online dictionary of Greek to find out what “horiatiki” means in Greek. With some difficulty, I found this word,

which the dictionary defines as “country” or “rustic”.

In Greek, the salad is

which is variously defined as “peasant”, “village” or “garden” salad. The pronunciation is like horiAHteekee, with the initial h roughly aspirated and the the middle syllable strongly emphasized.

Recipe for Horiatiki salad
One medium-sized serving

Ingredients

• a firm tomato, cut into chunks
• a cored green pepper, sliced
• half a medium-sized red onion, sliced
• a cucumber, medium sized, firm and ripe, sliced into 1/8" wheels
• a half-dozen kalamata olives
• feta cheese crumbled on top or in big chunks, to taste
• oregano, vinegar, extra-virgin olive oil

Some people like to add

• fresh black pepper
• pickled artichoke hearts
• a couple banana peppers
• slices of red bell pepper (for looks, really)
• capers (I don’t care for capers, though)

Mistakes

• Use of lettuce. This is missing the point.
• Use of canned, artificially ripened black olives, packed in salt water. Really, just don't use these. It misses the whole point.
• I use fancy fat-free feta. Tastes kinda like sour milk, but has the right texture.
• I put too much vinegar in. Only needs like 1 tsp.
• I used store-bought dried oregano. In the restaurant it’s better. My guess is they chop up their own fresh herbs.
• The onion can be over-done too. Half an onion might be a bit much.