As our conversation begins, Diane Kochilas spins her laptop to show me her view of the Aegean Sea. She’s just come from a swim in Ikaria, her hair wet and her smile beaming. On my end of the Zoom call, the wall of my home office is visible, and I can only say I’m filled with jealousy.
Kochilas, a cookbook author and host of the public television series My Greek Table, was born and raised in Jackson Heights, Queens. But her family roots are in Ikaria, a famously isolated island that’s one of the world’s “Blue Zones.” Residents there enjoy particularly long and healthy lives, and she spends (and teaches classes) there every summer. As I’ve written before, some of the “Blue Zones'” biggest commonalities have to do with food; specifically, these areas focus on a primarily plant-based diet.
Get the recipe: Classic Greek Salad
That’s the focus of Kochilas’ latest book, The Ikaria Way, which showcases the richness and diversity of her plant-based cuisine, traditional and contemporary. “When we think of Greek food, we think of lamb souvlaki and meatballs,” she says. “And that’s basically what you get in Greek restaurants. But this is really one of the great plant-based culinary traditions in the world… People just don’t really think about it in that context.”
I could talk to Kocilas all day about all kinds of vegan and vegetarian dishes, but this call is more focused: I want to hear her thoughts on what I consider one of Greece’s greatest gifts to the world: the classic dish known as Greek salad, but called horiatiki salata in its homeland. As Kocilas explains, the name translates to “village salad,” but its origins are anything but village.
At least one story goes that in the 1960s, restaurateurs in the Plaka district of Athens began adding chunks of feta cheese to the top of their simple tomato and cucumber salads. Why? Menus were subject to government price controls, and the cheese made the salads more expensive.
Since then, potato salad has appeared on restaurant menus everywhere, but its popularity has faded as lettuce and other ingredients have been introduced. Kochilas explains how potato salad became a staple in Florida’s Greek communities.
Greek salads have regional variations, mainly in terms of the type of cheese, but Kotsiras advocates a purist approach for home cooks. Rather than making this dish the usual gimmick, I tried her recipe and became a convert. You’ll get the taste if you use the best quality olive oil, feta cheese and olives when the vegetables are in season, especially the tomatoes and cucumbers, and at their peak of flavor. It’s also important to layer it with thinly sliced red onions and bell peppers, and sprinkle with oregano and, if desired, pepper onion. The result is a combination of refreshing acidity, rich creaminess, wonderful vegetal earthiness and great crunch.
Kochilas sometimes consults for restaurants and says he often implores chefs not to serve Greek salad in January, but to make it in July, August or September or when the neighborhood tomatoes are ripe and smelling their best.
Find cucumbers that are as fresh as your tomatoes. Cut them larger than you’d like for the best crunch. Don’t add lettuce. “Lettuce and tomatoes aren’t in season at the same time. Make a delicious Greek lettuce salad with dill and scallions and lemon dressing, or make a Greek salad.” Use Greek feta cheese. “Not Wisconsin feta. That makes a big difference. You know, if it’s produced outside of Greece, you can’t even call it feta, so for me that’s the clincher.” Add olives “something to give it some texture,” and preferably Kalamata cheese. Skip the vinegar. “The acidity comes from the olives and the feta,” not to mention the tomatoes. “Don’t put in the vinegar, that’s really important.” Use Greek olive oil and Greek oregano, dried or fresh. And a generous drizzle of oil that balances the acidic flavors.
As we speak, Kocillas tells me that her garden is so full of tomatoes and cucumbers that she can eat Greek salad for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and she tells me her favorite part of eating it: dipping a piece of crusty bread into the bottom of the bowl to sop up the juices.
After hearing that delicious story, she and I both said the same thing at the same time: “It really is the perfect salad.”
Get the recipe: Classic Greek Salad
