Sauces, seasonings, spices for Greek salad: how to prepare a delicious appetizer

The base that gives Greece's popular vegetable snack the flavors of Mediterranean cuisine is a delicious Greek salad dressing. The taste, aroma and calorie content of the finished dish depend on the set of ingredients included in its composition.

The most popular types of dressings for Greek salad

The basic option is a lemon-olive sauce, similar to Sicilian salmarillo. It is prepared from oil obtained by cold pressing of ripe olives, freshly squeezed lemon juice, sea or regular table salt, ground black pepper, and in limited quantities and shortly before use. By adding a variety of spices and herbs, you can experimentally obtain unusual variations of sauces and, consequently, new types of your favorite snack.

It is possible to repeat a gastronomic masterpiece at home, and for this it is not at all necessary to shine with special culinary talents. To please your loved ones with a delicious snack, it’s enough to know a few subtleties.

1. The base of the sauce is olive oil. For preparation, use fresh, unrefined “Extra Virgin” product.
2. The dressing is designed to emphasize the natural taste of the ingredients, so the use of spices with a pronounced spicy taste and rich aroma is undesirable. Such seasonings can hopelessly ruin the taste of the snack.
3. A special feature of preparing the sauce is the use of exclusively fresh herbs - basil, oregano, rosemary. Dry mixtures are added to the dressing if there is confidence in their quality.
4. You can dress Greek salad not only with oil, but also with natural yogurt. This will make the dish lighter and reduce calories. Preference should be given to homemade products.

Even novice cooks should know that the sauce, herbs and spices are the purpose of enhancing the taste of a Greek salad, and not a way to fix a spoiled dish. Making your own dressing opens up space for creativity and flights of fancy.

Spicy Pesto sauce with oregano

Dried oregano and pine nuts are ideal ingredients for making a Mediterranean-style dressing. It cooks very quickly and turns out tasty and aromatic.

What do you need:

• 120 ml olive oil;
• 2 large cloves of garlic;
• 30 g pine nuts;
• ½ teaspoon each of dry basil and oregano;
• salt, pepper - to taste.

How to prepare:

1. Pour oil into the blender bowl, add nuts and garlic.
2. The ingredients are thoroughly beaten until a paste-like mass is obtained.
3. Add a mixture of herbs and spices and mix lightly.
4. The spicy sauce is prepared half an hour before serving to allow the flavors to mix and stored in a cool place.

Basil dressing with Dijon mustard

Mustard and basil will help add fresh notes to the usual taste of Greek salad.It is the spices that saturate the oil with aromas and emphasize the rich flavor of the dish.

What do you need:

• 120 ml olive oil;
• 75 ml each of grape vinegar and lemon juice;
• 1-2 cloves of garlic;
• 1-2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard with grains;
• fresh green basil leaves;
• sugar, salt, pepper - to taste.

How to prepare:

1. Add vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, and basil to a blender bowl and blend until smooth.
2. Add mustard and mix thoroughly.
3. Lastly, with constant stirring, pour in the oil in a thin stream.
4. The thick sauce is poured into a glass container, covered with a lid and put in the refrigerator for an hour.

Natural yoghurt dressing

Sauce based on fermented milk products is widely used in Caucasian cuisine. Greek salad seasoned with this sauce acquires a delicate taste and local flavor.

What do you need:

• 300 ml natural yoghurt (ideally made from sheep's milk);
• 2 fresh cucumbers;
• 75 ml vegetable oil;
• 100 ml balsamic vinegar (apple or grape vinegar will also work);
• 2-3 cloves of garlic;
• 20 g fresh dill;
• salt, pepper - to taste.

How to prepare:

1. Peel the cucumbers, chop them on a fine grater, combine with yogurt and mix thoroughly.
2. Garlic passed through a press and finely chopped dill sprigs are also sent there.
3. Vinegar and oil are poured into the resulting preparation, and spices are added.
4. The mixture is punched until a thick paste-like mass is obtained.
5. The finished sauce is poured into a glass container and cooled for half an hour.
6. The dish is seasoned before serving.

Honey mustard sauce Maggi

The sauce got its name thanks to the mixture of herbs of the same name: basil, oregano, marjoram. With this dressing the dish turns out warm and fragrant.

What do you need:

• 120 ml olive oil;
• 75 ml lemon juice;
• 1 tablespoon liquid honey;
• 2 tsp. mustard;
• Maggi spice packet.

How to prepare:

1. Blend all ingredients with an immersion blender until smooth.
2. Continuing to beat, pour in olive oil in a thin stream.
3. The dressing is prepared 30 minutes before serving and placed in the refrigerator.

To give the sauce a brighter taste and aroma, use fresh oregano (oregano) and green basil instead of the dry mixture.

How to make ready-made spice mixtures for Greek salad yourself

Greek salad is the hallmark of Mediterranean cuisine. Almost all herbs growing in this region go well with it. It would not be a mistake to use dried herbs from Italy, Sicily, and Provence. Many manufacturers produce such mixtures today, however, you can prepare the seasoning yourself by mixing several suitable herbs and spices.

• Oregano, basil, parsley, dill. Mix equal amounts of dried herbs and grind them to a powder. If desired, you can add a little dried garlic, sea salt, and ground black pepper.
• Place 20 g of parsley, 10 g each of oregano and mint in a deep bowl, mix thoroughly. Grind the mixture and pour into an airtight glass container. A mixture of peppers will help enrich the taste.
• Take equal parts of dried parsley and dill into a powdery mixture, and then combine with 1 teaspoon of mustard powder and a pinch of brown cane sugar.
• In a bowl, combine dried and powdered vegetables taken in equal parts: garlic, onion, paprika. Add half the amount of turmeric to them. To enrich the taste, add a little dry parsley.

For seasonings to work, there are a few things you need to consider.

1. The herbs are dried in a warm, well-ventilated room protected from sunlight.
2. To grind spices I use a mill, coffee grinder or blender.
3. Dry mixtures are added gradually, starting with small quantities.

If you don’t want to make bouquets of herbs yourself, you can purchase ready-made mixtures in the store. Products from both domestic and foreign manufacturers are available for sale. The most popular spicy mixtures are:

• "KATANYI";
• "Maggi"
• "KAMIS";
• "MINOS";
• "Indiana";
• "Magic Tree"

It is recommended to add seasonings to the dressing rather than sprinkle them on the dish itself.

Greek salad recipes with spices

Greek salad is easy to prepare. The main requirement is fresh, high-quality products and large cuts. The difference between the dish and other salads is that the ingredients are placed randomly on the plate and are not mixed. Along with the traditional recipe, there are also more unusual salad options. To prepare them, tender chicken, fish or meat fillet is used. And traditional feta is replaced with feta cheese, mozzarella, and tofu.

Classic recipe

The salad looks elegant and bright in a transparent salad bowl.

Ingredients:

• 3-4 ripe tomatoes;
• 2 fresh cucumbers;
• 1 medium red onion;
• 1 bunch of lettuce leaves;
• 100 g pitted olives;
• 100 g Feta or Fetax cheese;
• a mixture of dried Italian herbs;
• juice of ½ lemon;
• 50 ml olive oil.

Preparation:

1. All vegetables are washed, peeled if necessary, and allowed to dry.
2. Tomatoes and cucumbers are cut into large cubes.
3. Divide the onion in half and chop into thin half rings.
4. Fetax is taken out of the brine, allowed to drain, and cut into cubes.

Lettuce leaves are placed in a salad bowl, after tearing them into large fragments with your hands. Vegetables, onions, olives, and cheese are sent to them. The dish is topped with a dressing made from lemon juice, olive oil, and herbs.

Important! Spices and herbs should be added to the dressing and left for 10-15 minutes. Sprinkled on food, they will remain dry, and during eating they will “grind” unpleasantly on the teeth.

Greek salad with shrimp, capers and avocado

With new ingredients and original dressing, the light snack will acquire unusual flavor notes.

Products:

• 10 small ripe tomatoes;
• 3 eggs;
• 400 g peeled shrimp;
• 2 red onions;
• ½ baked pepper;
• 1 head of Romaine lettuce;
• 250 g Feta cheese;
• 3 ripe avocados;
• 100 g canned capers;
• 5 sprigs of parsley;
• 200 ml olive oil;
• 80 ml wine vinegar;
• 1½ tsp. Dijon mustard;
• salt, black pepper - to taste.

Preparation:

1. Hard-boiled and peeled eggs are grated and the pepper is finely chopped. Place the products in a deep bowl and add chopped capers (along with the filling), oil, vinegar, mustard, and chopped parsley. Mix the dressing and put it in the refrigerator.
2. Boil shrimp in boiling salted water for 2-4 minutes and cool.
3. Tomatoes are cut into large slices, onions into half rings.
4. Cut the avocado into small cubes, which are first removed from the peel and pit.
5. Place salad leaves torn into fragments into a deep glass bowl, then vegetables, shrimp and diced feta.

Before serving, sprinkle the dish with spices, add chilled dressing, and mix lightly.

Greek salad with basil and roasted beets

This light summer snack will appeal to those who are counting calories.Beetroot spaghetti adds a special twist to the dish.

Ingredients:

• 2 large beets;
• 1 fresh cucumber;
• 1 yellow bell pepper;
• 1 bunch Iceberg lettuce:
• 50 g green olives;
• 60 g Feta cheese;
• 5-6 sprigs of green basil;
• 1 medium sized red onion;
• 3 tbsp. l. olive oil;
• 2 tbsp. l. lemon juice;
• 1 tbsp. l. grated lemon zest;
• ½ tsp. Dijon mustard;
• 2 tsp. dried oregano;
• 1 clove of garlic;
• salt, pepper - to taste.

Preparation:

1. The beets are peeled, washed, and cut into a thin spiral using a figured vegetable cutter. The resulting “spaghetti” is placed on a baking sheet covered with parchment, sprinkled with oil and placed in an oven preheated to 200°C for 7-10 minutes. The beets should be soft but slightly crunchy.
2. Prepare a dressing from oil, mustard, finely chopped garlic, lemon zest and juice, fresh oregano, and spices.
3. Cut the onion, cucumber, seeded bell pepper into small cubes, chop the feta with your hands or cut into arbitrary slices.
4. Pour pieces of chopped or torn lettuce leaves into a deep bowl, add vegetables, olives, feta. Spread beet spaghetti on top. Drizzle with dressing and place on a serving plate. Decorate with basil leaves.

Greek salad is popular both within the country and far beyond its borders. All chefs prepare it with pleasure and serve it both in expensive restaurants and popular cafes. However, attempts to prepare the same salad at home are not always successful. And most often, the problem lies in the inability to choose the right recipe and prepare a dressing for fresh vegetables. This article is intended to correct this shortcoming and make the culinary process simple and fun.