When we decided to move to Madison, about 4 months ago, my first thought was: “Yeah, I will have tomatoes by July”. I put my garden in around the end of May, when I returned from Greece, and things have been going along great! We’ve been enjoying plenty of Lettuce and Arugula, we got our first Zucchinis 2 weeks ago and finally … today … we harvested some Tomatoes!

So, here is the simple recipe for the Greek Tomato Salad:

3-4 large juicy tomatoes

At least 4 Tbsp Paeleon EVOO!

10-15 Kalamata Olives

1-2 tsp ground oregano

Salt to taste

5-8 oz Feta cheese

1 dry onion

Fresh baked bread!

In a large bowl, cut the tomatoes in bite-size chunks. If you skin the tomatoes the flavors will blend together better, but you will lose some of the lycopene and beta-carotene content. Cut the onion in half, slice it to long strips and add it to the bowl. Continue with the olive oil, the feta cheese and the olives. Mix it well, until the salad gets a “wet” kind of look. Finish with the salt and the oregano. Mix one more time. Enjoy within ½ hour! Oh, I almost forgot! The more people you have dipping bread in it, the tastier it will get!

Note: Some people like to add more vegetables, like peppers and cucumbers in their Greek salad. I have found that the tomatoes and the olive oil give moisture to the salad, so I always try to have a higher proportion of those two ingredients.