Baked dakos with spiced chickpeas, tomato and feta

"Gosh, those wild Cretan ladies made me work hard making those dakos, but I enjoyed every minute it; so much so that one of them said she’d adopt me as her daughter (who couldn’t make dakos to save her life). This recipe looks impressive and is a great way to celebrate sweet summery tomatoes," Yotam Ottolenghi.

Credit: Tammi Kwok

• serves

  6

• prep

  35 minutes

• cook

  20 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 200 g chickpeas, soaked overnight with 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda 
• 150 ml olive oil 
• ¾ tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground turmeric
• ¾ tsp sweet paprika
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• ¾ tsp ground coriander
• 12 medium tomatoes (1.5 kg)
• 1 large red onion, finely diced (130 g)
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 400 g dakos (see Note), Swedish krisprolls or Italian friselle, broken into 4 cm chunks 
• 300 g feta, broken into 3cm chunks 
• 15 g basil leaves

Marinade 

• 200 ml olive oil
• 100 ml red wine vinegar
• salt and black pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
2. Drain and rinse the chickpeas and place in a large pan with plenty of water, on a high heat. Bring to the boil, reduce to a gentle simmer and cook for about an hour, skimming the surface once or twice, until the chickpeas are completely soft. Drain and set aside to cool.
3. Add 60 ml oil to a medium sauté pan and place on a medium-low heat. Add the chickpeas, spices and 1 teaspoon of salt. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring and lightly crushing the chickpeas as you go, until they are soft and nicely coated in the spices and oil. Set aside.
4. Grate a third of the tomatoes and discard the skin. Chop the remaining tomatoes into 1 cm dice. Place both in a bowl along with the onion, garlic, 45 ml oil, ¾ teaspoon of salt and a good grind of black pepper. Set aside.
5. To make the marinade, mix together the olive oil and vinegar with ¼ teaspoon of salt.
6. Spread the dakos out onto a baking tray large enough to hold them in a single layer but so that they are sitting snugly, 30 cm x 40 cm. Drizzle the marinade all over and spoon the tomato mix on top, followed by the spiced chickpeas. Dot on the chunks of feta, slightly pressing them between the bread. Scatter over the basil and drizzle with the remaining 45 ml oil.
7. Place in the oven and bake for 25 minutes or until the feta is starting to brown, and serve.

Note

• Dakos are oven-dried crispbreads made from rye or wheat. They are similar to rusks and eaten on the island of Crete.

View all the recipes from Ottolenghi's Mediterranean Island Feast.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.