Greek salad

This salad is designed to serve two as a light meal, but there is nothing stopping you doubling or quadrupling the ingredients so it can serve more people. It also makes a great accompaniment to any grilled or barbecued meats and can be stuffed into large warmed flat breads with cooked marinated chicken or lamb to make delicious gyros.

Use full-fat feta instead of a reduced fat and serve with plain pitta breads or Greek-style flat breads. You can warm pitta bread very easily in a toaster, then use kitchen scissors to cut it into strips if you like. Larger flatbreads can be warmed on a baking tray in the oven, or in a dry frying pan for a minute or two on each side.

Choose good quality large, ripe tomatoes to make a Greek salad for the best flavour. And, even if they’ve been stored in the fridge, allow to stand at room temperature for at least an hour if you can, to help the flavour become more pronounced

To deseed a cucumber, cut off the ends and cut in half lengthways. Use a teaspoon to scrape out the seeds from each side and discard. For a Greek salad, you want the cucumber pieces to be in fairly large chunks, so cut the deseeded halves lengthways again and then slice thickly.

You could make this salad with cherry tomatoes too, or differently coloured ‘heritage’ tomatoes. If using cherry tomatoes, cut in half rather than chopping, so the pieces don’t become too small.

Mixed olives make a good alternative to Kalamata, or black olives. (Avoid any cheap pitted black olives as they have been processed to achieve the uniform black colour rather than ripening on the tree). It doesn’t matter if they are in oil or brine but it’s best to choose olives that have had their stones removed, so they are easier to eat in a salad.

This salad will keep well in the fridge for a couple of days in a lidded container or a bowl covered with cling film or foil. Ideally, leave at room temperature for around 30 minutes before eating so the flavours have a chance to shine. Swap any discoloured mint leaves for fresh ones if you need to.

This Greek salad is robust enough to put into a lidded container and take to work and is also great for picnics, especially when joining other Mediterranean-style ingredients, such as houmous and tzatziki, or pieces of spanakopita. Don’t forget to keep it cool with ice blocks.

If you cut the ingredients into smaller pieces, the salad also makes a good filling for Greek-style wraps. Toss the salad in the oil and lemon juice, then drain in a sieve. Spread thin flatbreads, such as tortilla wraps, with extra-smooth humous. Scatter over the salad, fold in the ends and roll up. Wrap in foil, keep cool and eat the same day as it is made.