A Greek Woman's Unconventional Tip for Better Greek Salads

There are nearly as many variations on Greek salad as there are idyllic islands in that gorgeous Mediterranean country. And while there is a time and place for honoring authenticity, there is also something to be said for making a recipe one's own and doing what tastes and feels right in the moment. Recipes are living things, constantly evolving and changing based on personal experience.

That is why we love one Greek woman's version of the salad that deviates from the official guidelines laid out by Allrecipes' Greek cuisine expert Diana Moutsopoulos but comes across as utterly mouthwatering. In an Instagram post by @_eating_with_emily, Emily shares that a Greek woman living on the island of Crete gave her a few tips for making the best Greek salad, and one tip stood out in particular:

"Game-changer: Mash half the feta with the juice from 1 lemon, 1 tbsp of red wine vinegar and 4 tbsp of extra-virgin olive oil. Then mix in with the rest of the salad. The other half of the feta is just cubed/roughly chopped. I normally use 2 blocks, one mashed, one chopped."

In other words, half of the feta is essentially blended into the dressing, which makes it extra creamy, salty, and tangy. It would also spread the feta throughout the entire salad, coating every piece of tomato, cucumber, green pepper, and onion in the bowl. That would definitely amp up the flavor quotient, along with the salty Kalamata olives that are an obvious necessity.

It is a deviation from the traditional advice of serving feta in a single large chunk atop each bowl of salad, allowing the eater to break off pieces as they go, but we won't say it's a bad idea! In fact, being able to mop up the tasty dressing at the bottom with good crusty bread, mixed with creamy feta, sounds like the next best thing to an actual Mediterranean vacation. You will likely find us mashing up some feta in the coming days.