Easy Greek Jain Salad (No Onion, No Garlic)
A 15-minute Greek Jain salad with cucumber, tomato, olives, and feta in a bright lemon-oregano dressing. No onion or garlic.
Ingredients
For the salad
- 2 cups cucumber diced; Persian or English, seeded if watery
- 2 cups tomato firm or cherry, diced and drained of excess juice
- 1 cup bell pepper red or yellow, diced
- 1/2 cup Kalamata olives pitted and halved or roughly chopped
- 3/4 cup feta cheese cubed or roughly crumbled; or use 1 cup paneer cubes
- fresh oregano or parsley optional, to garnish
For the lemon-oregano dressing
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice fresh
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano Greek oregano preferred
- salt pinch, to taste
- black pepper freshly ground, to taste
Instructions
Prep the vegetables
- Dice the cucumber, tomato, and bell pepper into bite-size pieces. If the cucumber is very wet, toss it with a pinch of salt, wait 5 minutes, and pat dry.
- Halve or roughly chop the olives. Add the vegetables and olives to a wide mixing bowl.
Whisk the dressing
- In a small jar or bowl, whisk the olive oil, lemon juice, dried oregano, a pinch of salt, and black pepper.
- Taste and add another squeeze of lemon if it tastes flat. You want it bright and herby, not oily.
Add the cheese and toss
- Cube or crumble the feta (or paneer) and add it to the vegetables.
- Pour over most of the dressing and fold gently so the cheese does not smash into paste.
- Taste again before adding more salt; olives and feta are already salty.
Rest and serve
- Let the salad sit 5 minutes so the oregano blooms in the oil.
- Serve cool. For lunchboxes, keep leftover dressing separate until serving.
Notes
Scoop seedy tomato centers (or use firm cherry tomatoes) and salt-pat the cucumber so the bowl does not turn watery within 20 minutes.
Paneer cubes work as a 1:1 swap for feta; season the dressing a little more boldly because paneer is milder.
A small handful of cooked chickpeas is fine as a sprinkle, but keep olives and feta as the stars so this stays a Greek salad.
Store leftovers airtight in the fridge up to 2 days. Refresh with lemon before serving; vegetables soften overnight.
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