I grew up eating Greek salad if not every day, than once per week for sure. So, I never knew that “Cucumber and tomato salad”, that’s what we used to call it, is actually called a Greek salad. To me it was just a salad that goes with any dish, anything you eat, and the more vegetables the better.

The only difference between Greek and “Cucumber and tomato salad” is the dressing. Unlike Greek salad, I use sunflower oil with a little salt to finish “my” salad with, and I will tell you why…When I was a child, back in Moldova, every time I came to my grandma’s house, she had something very tasty to eat. ..and boy, it was good! She always cooked her dishes with sunflower oil and plenty of onion. Sunflower oil, just like olive oil, has its very own taste…and I love the taste of it, because it reminds me of my childhood, and the best grandma in the world…my grandma!

 Greek salad

• 1 cucumber
  2 medium tomatoes
  ½ cup of pitted Kalamata Olives
  ½ cup of feta cheese, crumbled
  1/2 onion
  1/2 bell pepper
• ¼ cup of green onion
• For dressing: 1 tbsp of sunflower oil
• Salt to taste

1. Chop tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, onion and green onion and combine in a large bowl with Kalamata olives and crumbled feta cheese.
2. Pour sunflower oil, and add salt to taste.

Tip: I always put chopped tomatoes in a bowl first, salt and toss them and let them sit for a few minutes. Salty tomatoes give a nice juice that I love to dip my bread in after the salad is gone.

Bon appetite!