One of the best things about Mediterranean cooking is the ingenious uses it seems to provide for stale bread. You don’t need to wait until the bread is past it for this dish, as you can make it crispy by toasting it first. A golden rule if you prefer your olives pitted: never buy the tinned, pitted variety, which are a crime against food. How do you make an olive taste of mouthwash? Instead, buy them loose from the deli counter at your supermarket.
Ingredients
- 400g cherry tomatoes, red and yellow, if you like
- 1 cucumber
- 200g purple or green olives, pitted or not, as you prefer
- 3 pitta breads, stale if possible
- 1 small cos lettuce, outer leaves discarded and roughly shredded
- 4 eggs, hard-boiled and cut into wedges
- Small fistful chopped fresh dill
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Method
- 1. Halve the tomatoes and put in a large bowl. Deseed the cucumber – the easiest way is to halve it lengthways and run the back of a teaspoon along the seed cavity. Dice the cucumber flesh and add to the bowl along with the olives.
- 2. Preheat the oven to 200°C/fan180°C/gas 6. Split each pitta open and tear into small pieces. Place on a baking tray and toast in the hot oven for 6-8 minutes, until pale-golden and crispy. Cool.
- 3. Divide the lettuce between plates. Toss the cooled, crispy pitta with the tomatoes, cucumber and olives, and scatter over the lettuce along with the egg and dill. Dress with the vinegar and oil and season to serve.
Nutritional info
Per serving (based on 4): 407kcals, 23.7g fat (4.4g saturated), 15.1g protein, 35.6g carbs, 6.2g sugar, 2.2g salt
Wine Recommendation
Wine note: Plump for a light, juicy, tangy red here. A succulent Pinot Noir would be very summery.