Tall Greek Salad...Jacques Pepin's Way

Tall Greek Salad...Jacques Pepin's Way. I saw this salad, recently, on Jacques Pepin's More Fast Food My Way. Click here for his recipe, including the vinaigrette. It captured my attention, not only because was it pretty, but it was unique as well. I had just harvested some tomatoes from my garden...and I was going to try it! I had all the right ingredients to make it for lunch. This salad reminds me of the salad we often ate while growing up. We called it tomato salad...or salata de rosii. It was a basic tomato, cucumber and onion salad...seasoned with a bit of salt and olive oil. Simple but delicious, especially with some bread. We often had homegrown tomatoes throughout the summer and my mom would always make the tomato salad for us. Sometimes we topped it with feta cheese....other times, we skipped the feta cheese altogether. We loved dipping good crusty bread in the tomato juices that collected in our plates. I think that was the best part!

I just love how Jacques Pepin prepares this simple salad....quite different and yet easy to do. I whipped up a simple vinaigrette and drizzled it over the salad... and for lunch, we had a lovely salad! I chose to use smaller tomatoes...close to 3 inches in diameter. I think the larger ones would be too clunky~ Hope you enjoy this ... it is quite delicious! Oh, don't forget the olives...unless you don't care for olives. But, we LOVE olives...and had to have them:)

You will need:
tomatoes, sliced
onion, sliced
cucumber, sliced

feta cheese, sliced to fit the diameter of the tomato...or use crumbled like I did

kosher salt

pepper

vinaigrette or simply~ olive oil, salt, pepper and a squeeze of lemon.

Directions:

Wash and dry tomatoes. Cut core out.

Slice tomatoes, cucumber, feta cheese(or use crumbled) and onion. You should have about 5 slices of tomato...including the top.

Don't use the bottom piece...chop it up to use as a garnish. If your onion slice is bigger in diameter than the tomato, take a few rings off. On a serving plate, place a tomato slice.

Top with cucumber slice...you can sprinkle some salt and pepper, if you like, as you layer.

Add another tomato slice and continue with the layering of cheese, cucumber,and onion.

Finish with the top of the tomato. Add a bit of feta cheese where the core was and drizzle some vinaigrette.

Arrange some chopped leftover cucumber, onion, and tomato around the tomato centerpiece. Cut into it and let it fall ...mix it with the vinaigrette. Enjoy!