Dakos

Starter Vegetarian

4 people

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As ever, the taste of a simple tomato salad is dependent upon the quality of the tomatoes. There is a rich and beefy depth to end-of-season tomatoes, which can even exceed the taste of those from high summer, but if yours are anything other than bursting with flavour, a pinch of sugar or a few drops of balsamic vinegar will work well to draw out their natural sweetness. Consider mixing your feta with some ricotta to simulate the flavour of the sweet mizithra cheese, which is often served with dakos.

Ingredients

6	large tomatoes (500g gross), cut into 1 cm dice
½	red onion, cut into ½ cm dice (50g net)
1 tbsp	red wine vinegar
2 tbsp	olive oil, plus 1 to serve
½ tsp	ground allspice
70g	feta, crumbled roughly
40g	black olives, pitted and halved
30g	capers, whole or very roughly chopped
150g	cretan dakos or other rusks
5g	chopped parsley, to serve
	salt and black pepper

Method

Place the tomato, onion, vinegar, 2 tablespoons of oil and allspice in a large mixing bowl, along with 1/3rd teaspoon of salt and a good grind of black pepper. Stir gently and set aside.
Spread the dakos out on a serving platter and spoon the tomato mixture on top. Sprinkle over the feta, olives and capers, followed by the parsley and remaining olive oil. Leave to sit for 5 minutes before serving.