Daz Switalla Flavour Secrets No.1 The Strand Chef www.no1thestrand.co.nz

About five years ago, I was lucky enough to stay on a fabulous Greek Island called Lefkada. As I am writing this I'm staying on another fabulous island called Motiti. Unfortunately, not for a Greek holiday, but for a Greek tragedy – Rena the Greek-owned container ship 4.2km off the coast now polluting the pristine beaches of the Mount and Papamoa.

This developing story has caught everyone's attention. My part in the recovery programme is small, catering for the doctor staff and vets and oil response personal. The hard work is going on out on the ship. But life goes on and thinking of things Greek reminds me of the simple foods that taste great. Greek salad has to be one of those, so although there is enough in the news about things Greek, dept defaults and faulty ships this recipe will always remind me of the pleasure of eating.

I have had a few salads during the years and now I have my own salad delivery service which includes the real Greek, exactly the salad I used to make while working at LA dolce vita in Lefkada. As summer looms and the price of tomatoes becomes affordable, this salad captures all of the essence of summer.

Real Greek
Four serves

Ingredients

1 large green capsicum

4-5 large ripe tomatoes

1/2 cup black Greek olives

180g Danish feta (Honestly better than Greek feta – it's what they use!)

1/2 medium red onion

7-10cm piece of telegraph cucumber

Large pinch of dried oregano (Greek from Bel Mondo)

2 dessert spoons Extra Virgin olive oil (Greek)

Juice of 1 lemon

Method

Chop all the tomatoes, capsicums, onion and cucumber up chunky style like a villager with a blunt knife. Add feta, oil and juice, toss and serve.