A Cretan tomato salad with vegan feta, capers, red onion, Kalamata olives and barley rusks.
Hola!
Today I bring you a simple tomato salad inspired by my recent holiday to Crete, this beautiful island in Greece, where this is from. The original recipe is made with mizithra cheese, but feta cheese is a common substitute, which is easy to find as vegan in the UK. Other ingredients are capers, red onion, Kalamata olives and barley rusks, also known as Cretan rusks. I tend to get these at Mediterranean grocery stores but you can also buy them online. If you cannot be bothered, although these give quite the characteristic flavour to this salad, you can use croutons or crumbed Melba toast.
The barley rusks in Crete were bigger than the ones you buy, so we ended up having a piece or two for breakfast, covered with grated tomato to make them soft, olives and capers, with a nice extra virgin olive oil drizzle. Yes, for breakfast. When you are vegan and have a breakfast buffet at the hotel in Greece, the options are limited, and this was our salvation. For the shop-bought ones, I roughly break them with a rolling pin so that they soak the tomato juices faster, especially if not cut in small pieces like the salad I made.
The main element for this recipe is the tomato, so choosing quality ones will make the difference. Difficult, but not impossible in the UK.
Finally, I used pomegranate molasses because they remind me of my holiday in Crete and because I don’t like vinegar. You can swap them for balsamic vinegar.
VEGAN DAKOS SALAD
Serves: 2 people
Prep: 15 minutes
INGREDIENTS
2-3 barley rusks (depending on size)
4 good quality tomatoes, in wedges
1/2 red onion, finely diced
100g vegan feta, in small cubes
2 tsp. capers
8 pitted Kalamata olives, sliced
Extra virgin olive oil
Pomegranate molasses or balsamic vinegar
Dried oregano
INSTRUCTIONS
- Roughly break the barley rusks in big chunks and divide between the serving plates.
- Add the remaining ingredients, drizzle with the oil and pomegranate molasses or balsamic vinegar to taste, and sprinkle with oregano.
Bon profit!