Hummus Village Salad

Servings 4, Total time 15 minutes

This salad is an excellent choice for the summer. It is refreshing and flavorful, featuring a variety of vegetables. Greeks love it and often prefer it over any other salad. Adding hummus makes it a beautiful dish to share, allowing you to use leftover hummus. In a bowl, combine summer-ripe tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, bell peppers, olives, and a generous amount of extra virgin olive oil. Top it off with Greek feta cheese. I also added a splash of red wine vinegar and some black pepper, but you can skip those if your tomatoes are fresh and flavorful, like those found in Greece. This is my go-to salad when friends come for a casual dinner and a movie.

Ingredients:

• 4 small tomatoes

• 1 small red onion, thinly sliced

• 1 small green bell pepper, sliced 

• 1 small red bell pepper, sliced

• ½ medium cucumber, sliced 

• ¼ cup Kalamata olives

• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar

• 1 (8 ounces) package of feta cheese

• sea salt to taste

• 1 tsp dried oregano

• ½ tsp freshly ground pepper

• 1 cup Hummus

Steps:

1. Whisk together the vinegar, olive oil, oregano, and pepper in a small bowl. Set aside.

2. Cut tomatoes into wedges and place them in a large serving bowl with any extra juices accumulated—season liberally with salt. Allow tomatoes to sit at room temperature until juices have released, at least 20 minutes and up to 2 hours.

3. Before serving, mix in the onion, bell pepper, cucumber, and olives. Top with feta cheese, drizzle with the olive oil dressing, and serve with fresh bread.

Notes:

This makes the perfect salad to bring to potlucks and picnics. It can be prepared a day in advance, and the dressing can be added right before serving.