Greek salad

Ingredients

• 3 medium beef tomatoes
• Salt and sugar
• 1 small home-grown or 3 mini/Lebanese cucumbers
• 1 medium red onion
• 1 green pepper, preferably long, thin, extra-sweet
• 20 Kalamata black olives
• Leaves from a few sprigs of coriander or small mint leaves (optional)
• 200g/7oz slab Greek feta cheese
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• 4 tbsp Greek or other fruity olive oil
• 1 tbsp lemon juice or wine vinegar

Method

Greek salad travels well but to avoid disappointment, it needs thoughtful shopping. Look for fleshy and intensely flavoured tomatoes, small and crunchy cucumbers and onions almost sweet enough to eat like an apple. Plump purply-black Kalamata olives are ideal and be sure to get Greek, rather than French or Dutch, feta.

• Remove the tomato cores in a cone shape. Cut the tomatoes into four or five big, irregular chunks and season lightly with salt and just a hint of sugar.
• Peel the cucumber and cut in chunky slices.
• Peel and halve the onion, then slice down the halves to make thin wedges.
• Trim, split and seed the pepper and slice chunkily across the halves.
• Pile them all with the olives and fresh herbs into a salad bowl and top with two or three thick slices of feta cheese. Dust with oregano. Cover with clingfilm and refrigerate until required.
• Whisk together the olive oil and lemon juice and pour over the salad. Break up the cheese and toss thoroughly at the table.