Ultimate Greek Salad with Crouton Twist

Preheat the oven to 180°C/356°F.

First up – the croutons. Slice the ciabatta into cubes and place in a baking tray with a large glug of olive oil. Sprinkle over the chilli flakes with a large pinch of salt and pepper. Crush up the garlic cloves before adding to the tray and mixing the ciabatta cubes well. Place in the oven for 30 minutes.

Now for the salad base. Peel and slice the red onions into semi-circular discs, before adding to a large mixing bowl with the juice of half a lemon and a pinch of salt. Mix the onions well, setting them aside for 20 minutes to marinate.

Peel your cucumber, before slicing in half and scooping out the middle. Then chop each half into semi circles and set aside. Roughly chop up the tomatoes, placing them in a colander over a bowl with a pinch of salt. Give them a good toss, squeezing out the water contents so that you are left with mostly tomato flesh. This helps avoid the salad having a watery consistency.

Onto the dressing. Pour 5 tbsp of olive oil into a jar along with the balsamic vinegar, oregano and a large pinch of salt. Screw the lid on tightly, before giving the jar a good shake!

Assembly time! Into a large salad bowl place your strained tomatoes, chopped cucumber, Kalamata olives and sliced red onion. Crumble two thirds of the feta block in too, before adding the homemade croutons. Roughly chop up the basil, before sprinkling in a handful. Drizzle over the dressing, then toss well.

Time to plate up: serve with a sprinkle more basil, crumbling the rest of the feta over the top. A final glug of oil and another pinch of pepper and you’re ready to tuck in!