Salad Recipe

15 min

2 servings

Summer has always held a special place in my heart. As a child I spent my school holidays with my grandparents in Poti, a small port town in Georgia. Those visits felt like a little celebration of everyday life: warm afternoons, friendly neighbors, and family routines that made the days feel safe and full. My grandparents always set the table as if preparing for a feast, and a fresh vegetable salad was never missing. The simple salads of my childhood — cucumbers, tomatoes, a bit of onion, fresh basil, a splash of vinegar and olive oil — became the soundtrack of those summers. These memories are still vivid: playing with local children, walking with my grandmother to visit neighbors for coffee, and the honest, slow rhythm of holiday life. Childhood nostalgia is powerful — it makes you wish time could stand still, even while you secretly admit you love winter the most. But every year I would wait for summer with patience and joy.

This recipe is a slightly more modern, fuller-flavored version of those childhood salads. It keeps the fresh, bright notes of summer vegetables while adding briny capers, olives and crumbly feta for depth. It’s quick to make, colorful, and perfect for a light lunch, a BBQ side, or a picnic.

Servings: 2

Ingredients

2 medium cucumbers, sliced
10 cherry tomatoes, halved
2 green onion stalks, chopped
2 tosp (30 g) black olives
2 medium bell peppers (mixed colors), diced
½ red onion, sliced into half-moons
7 oz (200 g) feta cheese, crumbled
-Dressing:
½ cup (100 ml) olive oil
2 tosp (30 ml) lemon juice
Lemon zest, to taste
1 tbsp (5 g) dried basil
1 tbsp (15 g) Dijon mustard
1 tosp (15 g) capers
Salt, to taste

Chef's Note

- Salt balance: Taste the dressing before adding extra salt — the feta and capers contribute significant saltiness.

- Keep it crisp: Removing excess moisture from cucumbers helps keep the salad from becoming soggy.

- Make it heartier: Add sliced avocado, cooked chicken, or canned tuna to turn this into a main-dish salad.

- Vegan option: Substitute the feta with a firm tofu marinated in lemon and olive oil or use a plant-based feta alternative.

- Storage: Best eaten the same day. Stored in an airtight container, it keeps for up to 24 hours in the fridge, but the vegetables will lose some crunch.

- For picnics: Keep the dressing separate and toss just before serving to preserve texture.

- Substitutions: If you don’t have Dijon mustard, use a milder mustard and reduce the amount slightly; white wine vinegar (1–1½ tbsp) can replace lemon juice if preferred.