Tomato and Cucumber Salad Recipe with Feta Cheese: Best Idea for a Summer 2023 Dish!

Tomato and cucumber salad recipe with Feta cheese: Check out how to prepare the best Summer 2023 dish and check out my grandma’s secret ingredient!

It’s summer, it’s hot, and you’re probably somewhere in the shade wondering what to eat or drink to cool you down and make you feel light and pleasant… Well, we have the right solution for a quick and easy salad that is traditional in many cultures around the world and that people eat almost every day in their daily lives! I’m talking about a tomato and cucumber salad, which is what we’ve dedicated today’s post to and which we’ll tell you how to make in summer 2023! What is the best tomato and cucumber salad recipe? What drinks go with it? Should you add protein? Let’s find out!

Tomato and Cucumber Salad Recipe with Feta Cheese

During the summer season, you should be careful what foods you consume as it is very hot and you should not load your body with anything fatty and fried. It’s a good idea to include as many fresh seasonal vegetables in your menu as possible to give you energy and make you feel refreshed. That’s what the tomato and cucumber salad will do for you. This salad is universally known to many around the world and has many variations. Today, we’ll tell you how to make it with feta cheese, which will make it even more appetizing! And I’m going to let you in on a little secret that my grandma gave me for this recipe, because I used to eat this salad every day in my childhood! Keep on reading to find out what it is!

Tomato and Cucumber Salad Calories (per serving): 104 kCal

Ingredients for 2 servings (calories: 208 kCal):

• 1 large English cucumber: Cucumber are a great source of water and will hydrate you really well in the hot days.
• 2 Roma tomatoes: They are soft and perfect for the summer season. The taste is soft and a bit sweet, which is what we aim for in this recipe. Tomatoes are not only going to refresh your taste, but they contain vitamins that will help you to keep your cells healthy.
• 200 g (3/4 cups) Feta Cheese: This cheese is really rich in calcium and will help you maintain healthy muscles, bones and teeth.
• 50 g (1/3 cups) Kalamata Olives: These olives contain a lot of iron, calcium and copper minerals, which are very beneficial for your health.
• 1 small red onion: Red onions are actually filled with compounds that can protect you from different diseases, such as cancer. One of the compounds is sulfur.
• 1/2 tablespoon oregano dried
• 1/2 tablespoon paprika
• 1 tablespoon olive oil 
• half lemon
• 1/2 tablespoon vinegar
• salt and pepper to taste

Preparation: 

1. Start by chopping up your vegetables into small cubes or pieces, depending on your preferences. Chop up the fresh parsley, and make sure there aren’t any big pieces – the smaller, the better!
2. Combine the vegetables and the parsley into a bowl and mix well.
3. Shhh… This is my grandma’s secret – chop up the feta cheese into cubes and cover it with 1/2 tablespoon of paprika. Let it sit for a bit, while you do the dressing. The paprika will compliment the feta cheese in a perfect way, and it will add more taste to your salad!
4. For the dressing, grab a small bowl and mix the oregano with the olive oil, the vinegar and add salt and pepper to taste. Mix well and then grab your half lemon and squeeze it. Mix all the ingredients well again!
5. Put the feta cheese into the bowl with the vegetables and parsley and cover with the dressing. Mix well!
6. Enjoy it!

What Protein Is Best to Add Into a Tomato and Cucumber Salad?

Everyone loves to add grilled chicken to their salads or tuna! However, they are not the only proteins suitable for a summer salad. Let me tell you that for a tomato and cucumber salad, adding chickpeas would be best! You can add chickpeas straight from a can, or you can add some pepper, salt and cumin and roast it in the oven. This will make it crispy and it will become a sort of “healthy croutons” as I like to call it!

What Drinks Go with Tomato and Cucumber Salad?

If you want to enjoy this salad as much as possible, you are going to need the right drink to compliment it and make it taste even better. What are the best drinks that will suit your tomato and cucumber salad and will get you in the summer mood? Aniseed drinks like Ouzo, Mastika, Skinos, etc. will do the perfect job! I bet that drinking them with a squeeze of lemon will make you feel like you’re living somewhere in Greece!

Read also: Find the perfect cherry ice cream recipe for summer 2023!