Lima Bean and Beet Salad with Smoked Herring

During Lent, salads with boiled lima beans or with beets and potatoes are a very common lunch or dinner dish. On Wednesdays and Fridays, some devout Greeks abstain even from olive oil, eating salads dressed with only salt and vinegar.

The combination of beans, beets, and potatoes—with or without smoked herring—can be found in many parts of the Peloponnese. In Mani there is even a potato salad with orange slices (a quite exotic combination, not much to my taste) because oranges are c