Written by Chris Wednesday, 08 July 2009 00:00

The Mediterranean diet is said to be the most healthy diet in the world and this may be one of the reasons. Benefits include longevity and healthier living. The basis for this is not just the reduced consumption of saturated fats which are more common in western European food but also the consumption of large amounts of fruits and vegetables.

Salads form a main component of every meal consumed in Cyprus and Greece. Here is a recipe for salata horiatiko - Greek Village Salad. I've used kalamata olives from Greece in this one. The cucumbers are the small gherkin type field cucumbers found in Cyprus which are usually harder and tastier than the long wide ones grown in greenhouses.

Serves: 6
Cooking time: 30 mins.

Ingredients

• 4 tomatoes
• 4 small cucumbers
• 1 medium-sized onion (red onions are tastier)
• 1 green pepper (capsicum)
• 125g of feta cheese
• 1/2 cup of black olives
• parley leaves

Preparation

Cut the tomatoes in wedges and peel stripes and section the cucumber. The onion should be thinly sliced into rings and can form the base of the salad. Core the capsicum by cutting around the stem and cut it into slices like the onion. Build the salad up and add cubed feta, parsley and olives to the top.

Dressing

Traditionally the Greeks would use just olive oil and oregano as a dressing for this salad. Cypriots also tend to add lemon and/or vinegar.

I would make a dressing with 1/4 cup of olive oil, the juice of 1 lemon, a couple of tbsp vinegar and salt & freshly ground pepper.