Greek Salad with Olives

2 firm tomatoes
2 cucumbers
1 medium size onion
˝ cup purslane
˝ cup parsley
1 green pepper
1 tablespoon pickled capers
5 - 6 black olives
˝ teaspoon salt
100 grams feta cheese
1 teaspoon oregano
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon vinegar

Wash tomatoes, cucumbers, parsley, green pepper and purslane. Cut all of them into pieces and put in a salad bowl.

Add capers, onion cut into thin rings and olives. Season with salt and oregano, pour over the dressing with olive oil and vinegar and mix.

At the end, place feta cheese on top of the salad.

Salad with Dried Rusks

On Crete they are used to eating dried rusks, bread which had been in the oven, (for quite a few hours at very low temperature) for a second time and had been dried out. In the old days, this was the easiest way of preserving bread by the farmers as it wasn’t possible to cook fresh bread everyday.

Many types of dried rusks in various shapes can be found in Greece, whether rectangular, square or circular and also dried rusks made with a range of ingredients and with different ways of preparation (rusks made with whole wheat, with barley flour, with a mixture of wheat and barley, with chick peas etc). These rusks are hard, thick, toasted slices of bread which are softened with water or olive oil and then eaten.

Shops in Europe and American, which sell Greek products, have these dried rusks and the best are from Crete.

The following salad is a traditional one in the area of Mylopotamos on Crete.

2 barley or wheat paximathia (rusks)
2 firm tomatoes
2 cucumbers
1 medium onion
1 bell pepper
5 - 6 black olives
˝ teaspoon salt
100 grams feta cheese
1 teaspoon dried oregano
4 tablespoons olive oil or according to desire taste

In a salad bowl, place the rusks broken into chunks and dampen slightly with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Wash tomatoes, cucumber and pepper.

Chop them into pieces and put on the rusks. Add the roughly chopped onion and olives. Season with salt and oregano, drizzle with remaining oil (or more) and mix. Finally, add the feta cheese in crumbs.

Bulgur Salad

1 cup bulgur (stone-ground wheat)
1 finely chopped large dried onion or 5-6 spring onions
2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
1 tablespoon finely chopped mint (optional)
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons vinegar
Salt, ˝ mashed hot pepper

Soak bulgur in warm water for one hour and drain well. Add remaining ingredients and mix well.

Salad with “Rocket” and Tomatoes

2 firm tomatoes, cut into wedges
1 cup roughly chopped “rocket”
10 olives
˝ teaspoon salt, pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon vinegar

Place in a salad bowl the tomatoes, rocket and olives.

Make a dressing by shaking well olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper and pour over the salad.

Salad with Apples and Walnuts

1 cup grated carrot
1 cup grated cabbage
1 cup grated beetroot
1 cup grated apple
˝ cup roughly ground walnuts
4 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons lemon juice
Salt, pepper

In a salad bowl mix vegetables, apple and walnuts. Shake olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper until well combined and pour the dressing over the salad.

Purslane with Yoghurt and Walnuts

Purslane is a self-sown plant in many countries, but usually it is regarded as a weed in gardens.

On Crete, which has given many lessons on a healthy diet, purslane is not considered a weed. On the contrary, it is cultivated as it is eaten regularly in salads.

You can grow purslane even in plant pots where it will thrive for years! Purslane has a large quantity of Omega 3 fats, which is believed to be a shield of protection for the heart.

˝ kg purslane
3 tablespoons olive oil
250 grams strained yoghurt
2 mashed garlic cloves
1 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice
˝ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons roughly chopped walnuts

Wash and clean purslane, discarding the thick sprigs. Put it in a salad bowl.

Combine well yoghurt with garlic, olive oil, vinegar or lemon juice, salt and walnuts. Pour over purslane and mix.

Dried Bean Salad

1 cup dried beans
1 medium onion cut into slices
2 green peppers cut into slices
2 tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
3 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
1 tablespoon finely chopped basil (optional)
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons vinegar or lemon juice
Salt
10 black olives
2 boiled eggs

Boil the beans in water until they are soft but not overcooked and then drain. (They can be soaked in water for a few hours prior to cooking).

In a salad bowl, mix beans with onion, peppers, tomatoes and parsley.

Whisk olive oil with salt and vinegar or lemon juice and pour over the salad. Garnish with olives and slices of boiled eggs.

The salad is quite delicious by just adding finely chopped onion and dill and a dressing with olive oil and lemon juice.