Horiatiki-Style Greek Salad with Barrel-Aged Feta

Horiatiki, the actual Greek village salad, looks nothing like the chopped versions you often see elsewhere — no lettuce at all, just thick wedges of ripe tomato, sliced cucumber, and green pepper, topped with a whole slab of feta rather than crumbles, and finished simply with olive oil, oregano, and a splash of vinegar.

Barrel-aged feta has a firmer texture and sharper flavor than the softer versions sold in brine, and it holds its shape beautifully sitting on top rather than melting into the vegetables.

This salad leans heavily on ripe, in-season tomatoes and good olive oil, letting a handful of simple ingredients do all the work rather than a long dressing list. It's best made in peak tomato season, when the vegetables genuinely don't need much help to taste like something, and it needs nothing more than good bread on the side to feel like a full meal.