Marinated-feta horiatiki with tomato-water dressing
Restaurant-style horiatiki: salted mixed tomatoes whose juice becomes the dressing, lemon-chilli marinated feta and crunchy olive-oil croutons.
Method
Marinate the feta first. Pat the block dry, cut it into a slab about 1.5 cm thick if it is very tall and put it in a small dish. Pour over the oil, grate over the lemon zest and sprinkle with the chilli and half the oregano. Leave for , turning once.
Add in this stepFeta, in one block 150 gExtra virgin olive oil (for the feta) 1½ tbspUnwaxed lemon (zest only) ¼Aleppo pepper or mild chilli flakes 1 pinchDried Greek oregano ½ tsp
Cut the large tomatoes into irregular 3 cm wedges and halve the cherry tomatoes. Toss them with the salt in a colander set over a bowl and leave for . The juice that drips into the bowl, the tomato water, is the base of the dressing.
Add in this stepLarge ripe tomatoes 400 gCherry tomatoes 100 gCoarse sea salt ½ tsp
Tear the bread into rough 2–3 cm pieces, toss with the oil and toast in a 22 cm frying pan on medium-low heat for , turning often, until golden and crisp all over. Tip onto a plate to cool; they crisp up further as they cool.
Add in this stepDay-old country bread or sourdough 60 gExtra virgin olive oil (for the croutons) 1½ tbsp
medium-low heatSlice the onion into very thin rings and soak them in iced water for , then drain and dry. Peel the cucumber in stripes, halve it lengthwise, scoop out the watery seeds with a teaspoon and cut into 1 cm half-moons. Cut the pepper into thin rings.
Add in this stepRed onion ½Cucumber 200 gGreen pepper ½
Whisk all the collected tomato water with the oil, vinegar and remaining oregano until it looks slightly creamy. Taste: it should be bright, salty and fruity.
Add in this stepExtra virgin olive oil (for the dressing) 3 tbspRed wine vinegar 1 tspDried Greek oregano ½ tsp
In a 26 cm wide, shallow bowl, gently combine the tomatoes, cucumber, pepper, onion, olives and capers with half the dressing. Tuck the croutons around the edges, lay the feta on top with its marinade oil and spoon over the rest of the dressing. Serve at once, while the croutons still crunch.
Add in this stepKalamata olives 12Capers 2 tsp
Cook's tip
Seeding the cucumber and draining the tomatoes keeps the salad from turning watery, so it can sit on the table longer. If your tomatoes are not very juicy, add a spoonful of water to the dressing. Greek barley rusks (paximadia), if you can find them, are the traditional choice instead of croutons.
Cooking it at camp
Marinate the feta at home in a jar and pack it in the cooler. Toast the croutons in a skillet over the camp stove, or bring them ready-made in a sealed bag. Salt and drain the tomatoes in a sieve over a cup, then assemble everything on site.