Mediterranean salad with spiced pitta croutons

Limp and lifeless salads are out; vibrant, flavour and texture packed salads are in! This Mediterranean salad is what vegetarian salad dreams are made of. The spiced pitta croutons are something I like to serve with hummus for dipping, but they also work so well on salads.

Serves 2

Croutons

• around 1tbsp olive oil

• around 1tsp paprika

• around 1tsp za’atar

• salt to taste

• 2 pittas

For the salad:

• 1 can butter or cannellini beans

• 2 roasted red peppers (I use jarred)

• 1 small red onion

• 100g feta

• 1/2 cucumber

• small handful of parsley and dill (you could use mint instead)

For the dressing:

• around 1tbsp olive oil

• around 1tsp dried mixed herbs

• 1 minced/grated garlic clove

• around 1tsp honey

• juice of 1/2 lemon

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200c/180c fan.

Cut the pittas in half and then tear each of the halves into chunks the same size you see here. Toss with the paprika, za’atar, oil and salt in a bowl, spread onto a baking tray lined with foil or parchment paper and bake for around 10 minutes or until golden and crispy.

Chop the onion, cucumber and red peppers into whatever size you prefer and mix in a bowl with the drained can of beans, chopped herbs and crumbled feta. Season to taste.

For the dressing, whisk all of the ingredients together and pour over the salad. Plate the salad and top with the pitta croutons!