The salad for those who don’t like salad! Chop, sprinkle, stir and serve. An epic combo of cucumber, tomato, feta and onion, this salad self sauces in minutes with a full flavour hit. Guaranteed empty bowl at your next BBQ!
In This Post You’ll Learn
Why We Love This
This is the ultimate salad perfection. There’s no need to ponder what salad dressing to put on it, this salad is so fancy it dresses itself!
Serve straightaway or the next day – it doesn’t matter – this salad will taste just as good. Great as a last minute throw together OR a make-ahead salad you can bring to a gathering.
Related: Aussie Style Greek Salad / Shopska Salad
What is Eileen’s Salad?
We owe this recipe to our best friend. It’s the only name anyone refers to it as, unless you’re Eileen, who calls it “My Salad“.
It’s a simple chopped salad with only four main ingredients – cucumber, tomato, onion and feta, seasoned with salt and pepper. It’s the salt that triggers the magic – drawing out the liquid and mixing with the feta to make a creamy, crunchy salad that’s also self saucing.
We know it’s good when Laura’s brother (who “hates salad”, and says they aren’t necessary at BBQs) requests to take the leftovers to his friend’s party the next night.
What You’ll Need
- Tomato – Larger vine ripened tomatoes work best here, think truss or Roma. Pick out the nice red ones that smell like good tomatoes when you pick them up – that’s the key!
- Cucumber – Any cucumber works. We like continental or Lebanese.
- Red Onion – We use half, if you have onion lovers – use the whole lot. Sub with shallots if you need, or white onion in a pinch (but that will be a little more bitey in flavour in our experience).
- Feta – We find crumbly feta works best here, so pick out either Australian feta or Greek feta. If you want a creamier salad you can use Danish feta instead.
- Salt and pepper – Salt will draw out the liquid – use sea salt or Himalayan. Pepper just gives it a nice extra zing that reminds us of old school 90’s salad sandwiches. We use a combo of a little black and white pepper. Choice is yours!
How to Make the Magic Self Saucing Salad!
First, gather your ingredients: See recipe card below for measurements.
- Finely dice the tomatoes, cucumber and red onion.
- Place chopped veggies into a large bowl and crumble the feta cheese over the top.
- Give a good crack of salt and pepper, then toss well and serve straight away or pop in the fridge to self sauce further and serve the next day.
Wandercook’s Tips
- Size Matters – The smaller you chop the veggies, the more surface area you’ll get coming into contact with the salt. More surface = a saucier salad!
Storage
Store in the fridge with a lid. We don’t recommend freezing, but you can make ahead. A day in advance is best, but any longer and it will start to get a little soggy, but still delish.
FAQs
The salt! It draws out the liquid making it self saucing with no salad dressing required.
Summer grills or BBQs will always work well with this salad. Serve it up alongside things like potato bake, cevapis, teriyaki chicken and rissoles!
Variations
- Additions – If you want to make it go even further, try adding a chopped avocado, olives and chopped parsley or oregano.
- Add Protein – A can of mixed beans or even roto chicken would work well tossed through the salad.
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★ Did you make this recipe? Please leave a comment and a star rating below!
Ingredients
- 500 g tomatoes 1.1 lb, truss or sub with cherry
- 250 g cucumber 8.8 oz, Lebanese
- ½ red onion
- 200 g feta cheese 7 oz, crumbly style – Aussie or Greek feta
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Finely dice the 500 g tomatoes, 250 g cucumber and ½ red onion.
- Place chopped veggies into a large bowl and crumble the 200 g feta cheese over the top.
- Give a good crack of Salt and pepper, then toss well and serve straight away or pop in the fridge to self sauce further and serve the next day.
Video
Recipe Notes
- Size Matters – The smaller you chop the veggies, the more surface area you’ll get coming into contact with the salt. More surface = a saucier salad!
- Additions – If you want to make it go even further, try adding a chopped avocado, olives and chopped parsley or oregano.
- Add Protein – A can of mixed beans or even roto chicken would work well tossed through the salad.
Nutrition
2 Comments
Andrea
11/04/2024 at 2:59 pmI absolutely love love love this salad !! It so bright and refreshing. Thanks for such a great recipe.
Wandercooks
11/04/2024 at 3:34 pmAww thanks so much Andrea, you’re very welcome. Sounds like you love it as much as Laura’s brother haha!