It's Summer and the last thing you want to be doing is working over a hot stove. Salads are the answer - they're tasty, satisfying, refreshing and simple to make.
So which are the 3 Finest Mediterranean Salads? Well we think that's an impossible question to answer, as it's all down to personal preference and each country has their own indigenous salad. So we decided to choose a popular salad from 3 different countries and pair them with Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil from that country, just as you would with a fine wine and an entrée.
Salad Niçoise from France 🇫🇷
Born in Nice in the South of France it's a salad which is basically an assembly of whatever is grown or raised in the garden, combined with whatever is in the pantry:
There's no hard and fast rule to making this - some like to add fresh tuna, or boiled potatoes and green peppers or
Caviar instead of anchovies!
Pair it with this lovely provencal organic olive oil:
Chateau Virant 🇫🇷
Greek Salad from Greece 🇬🇷
The ingredients of the Greek salad, like tomatoes, cucumbers, and onions, are staples in ancient Greek cuisine and were used in various ways. Interestingly the Greek Salad as we know it today is often linked to the Plaka neighbourhood of Athens, where restaurateurs are said to have created it (adding feta cheese) to capitalise on the rising tourism industry of the 1960's and 1970's
Greek salad or horiatiki salad (Greek: χωριάτικη σαλάτα or θερινή σαλάτα) is a salad in Greek cuisine generally made with pieces of tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, feta cheese, and olives (typically Kalamata olives) and dressed with salt, Greek oregano, lemon juice and olive oil. Green peppers are often added too.
Pair it with this lovely Organic Olive Oil from the Greek island of Crete: Itania 🇬🇷
Caprese Salad from Italy 🇮🇹
Caprese salad literally means the salad from the Island of Capri off the Italian coast. There are so many stories about how this salad came into being. But we like the one which suggests that post World War I, a hotel employee working in the kitchen put the dish together to make a patriotic 3- coloured plate of food to represent the Italian flag - Tricolore.
It's so simple to prepare with ripe tomato slices, fresh mozzarella cheese slices and fresh basil leaves, seasoned with salt and pepper and drizzled with a good olive oil. Often a balsamic glaze is added.
Pair it with this lovely Organic Olive Oil from the Italian region of Tuscany: Trebio 🇮🇹
A simple way of making a balsamic glaze is to get some balsamic vinegar, mix it with brown sugar and reduce it over some heat until the consistency is perfect.
Happy Eating! 😋
(Header Image: ©IbbaFlorine: Le Café du Jardin at La Chèvre d'Or in Eze, France. Other images: Niçoise Salad by Diana Chistruga on allrecipes, Greek Salad courtesy of The Real Greek Restauramt in London, Caprese Salad from Downshiftology with Lisa Bryan)
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