A Taste of Greek Part 2

Here's the follow-up recipe of the Greek salad I mentioned in Tuesday's post. It's a nice dish to have before the pastitsio, but don't gorge on this--it's very filling. This recipe was also in Cook's Country. Apparently, this is the Greek counterpart (the Greek call it "dakos") to an Italian bread salad.

What you'll need:
1/4 c. jarred pepperoncini, chopped
1 1/2 Tbs. pepperoncini brine
1 1/2 Tbs. red wine vinegar
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
6 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1 pint cherry tomatoes*
1 (16-oz.) can garbanzo beans (also known as chickpeas), drained and rinsed
1 cucumber*
1 c. feta cheese, crumbled
3/4 c. pitted kalamata olives*
1/2 small red onion
2 (10-in) pita breads
1 clove garlic, minced
1/3 c. fresh parsley, chopped
salt and pepper

What you'll need to do:
1. Cut the tomatoes and the olives into halves. Set aside.
2. Peel the cucumber, then cut it lengthwise down the middle to create two halves. Slice each half thinly, then set aside.
3. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
4. In a medium bowl, add the pepperoncini brine, vinegar, 1/2 tsp of the oregano, and the mustard. Mix well, then slowly whisk in 5 Tbs of the olive oil.
5. Add tomatoes, garbanzo beans, cucumber, feta cheese, olives, onion, and pepperoncini to the vinegar mixture and toss to coat with the dressing. Set aside and let sit for half an hour.
6. Tear the pita into approximately 1-inch pieces and put into a bowl. Toss with the last Tbs of the olive oil, the other 1/2 tsp of the oregano, and the garlic.
7. Spread the pita evenly in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for about 10 minutes, until the pieces are golden brown.
8. When you are ready to serve, toss the pita bread and parsley into the Greek salad. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

I would recommend regular pita bread for this, not pita pockets--the pita pockets aren't as thick and might go soggy too quickly in the salad. I would also recommend not letting the salad sit (a deviation from the magazine's recipe) after adding the baked pita for the same reason--part of the appeal is the nice crunch the pita adds, which could also go soggy if the salad is left to sit too long before serving. The other option is to serve the salad with the pita on the side, allowing each person to add as much (or as little) pita as they want to their own salad.

Another recipe (a "sweet treat") to follow, perhaps with a bit of discussion about a project I'm currently collaborating on for one of my classes.

Enjoy!