In Ancient Greece it was common to serve raw vegetables dressed with olive oil, and today the classic "horitaki" or "country salad" of Greece keeps that tradition in a salad of tomato chunks, cucumber, and red onion with olive oil and a sprinkling of oregano.

But the olive oil in a classic Greek salad is not the straight stuff. Long ago it was discovered that infusing the oil with herbs would preserve it, and scientists investigating an ancient Greek shipwreck have discovered DNA traces of olives and oregano in a 2600 year old amphora. Infused oil was the rule for many centuries.

Infusing oil for this classic dressing is easy. Get a bottle of olive oil. Get a bunch of fresh oregano, thyme, or other herb. Wash the herbs and jam them into the bottle. Cap the bottle. Wait two weeks or more before using. OR you can smash up a lot of herbs and let it infuse for an afternoon.

But Greek salads, and Greek salad dressings, are not limited to the horitaki.

Another classic Greek salad is "maroulosalata", the lettuce salad. Usually it is just shredded lettuce tossed with dressing. The dressing is simple; 2/3 cup olive oil, 2 tablespoons WHITE WINE vinegar (the dressing should be clear and regular white vinegar is harsh, but you can substitute lemon juice), 6-10 small scallions or a handful or fresh chives sliced very thin, 2-3 tablespoons minced fresh dill, and salt to taste. Toss with an entire head of shredded or finely sliced Romaine, or drizzle over individual salads. Garnish with tomatoes, Feta cheese, Kalamata olives, Bell peppers, radishes, or whatever.

The "lahanosalata" is simply shredded cabbage tossed with oil, garlic, and lemon juice. To make the dressing, crush a clove or two of garlic and let it soak in cup of olive oil for a few hours. Toss with a shredded head of cabbage, and sprinkle with lemon juice to taste.

"Pantzarosalata" is made with thinly sliced beetroots (and greens, too, if you like) with a dressing of 1/2 cup olive oil and 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar.

When you get down to it, there are as many "Greek" salad dressings as there are Greeks in the world, and likely far more. In Greece every town and village has it's own preferred salad, and everyone in that town or village has their own dressing, while those who love Greek salads- but have no Greek in their blood- have invented others.

Being of the latter group, I've had Greek salads with dressings that included egg, anchovy oil, balsamic vinegar, pureed parsley, and

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