What is it? See what I mean? The "?" is a ;
Laws, cultures, salad and me! (This blog has it all baby. Give away coming soon.)
And so is the law! "Greeks treat laws as suggestions." Best way I've heard it described. To see it in action explains a lot about the culture.
Except when it comes to the famous Greek salad- Horiatiki.
χωριάτικη σαλάτα
(Ho-ree-a-tee-kee sa-la-ta). See what I mean? "X" is a h sound, "w" is a long o sound, the little o with the attitude on top is a s!
Horiatiki means village salad or country salad.
In the States, you can find Greek Salad all over. It's become common. As all things borrowed from other cultures, we've tweaked it and added our own style to the Greek Salad. Today, "I'm a gonna share wit' yous" how to make the traditional Greek Salad.
Get this: In Greece, there are laws for restaurants which say exactly what goes into a traditional Greek Salad.
What! Why? Things that make you go hmmm.
One of the reasons (and I laugh at this now because I admit that it makes sense in a Greek way) is because foreigners decide to live the dream, move to an island and open a taverna on the beach.
Greeks don't need this so they regulate things such as salad. The law literally says what goes into a Horiatiki and what the ratio of the ingredients are to be.
Now, it goes without saying this law is not used against Greeks.
A traditional Horiatiki has tomatoes (cut in wedges), cucumbers (sliced and halved), red onions (in strips), kalamata olives (with pits) and a healthy sprinkling of oregano and salt. Toss with olive oil or dump it on top to have it puddle at the bottom and top with a slab of feta.
Serve it up with some fresh bread to mop up the olive oil at the bottom which is laced with the juice from the ingredients and OPA!
Variations may include capers, green bell pepper slices, vinegar, lettuce but would these additions hold up to the Greek Salad laws? Probably not for restaurants owned by foreigners.
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