1medium red onion, peeled and cut into thick rings (discard or compost the root and stem ends)
a little olive oil for brushing
5ozpeeled and seeded cucumber, cut into chunks (about 1/2 medium cucumber)
10kalamata olives, pitted if they have pits (mine didn't)
3ozred wine vinegar
1ozextra virgin olive oil, Greek if you have it
1teaspoondried oregano
1teaspoonkosher salt
several grindings black pepper
For Garnish
Thinly sliced kalamata olives
Thinly sliced red onion
peeled cucumber, small dice
small cubes of feta cheese
a few leaves of fresh oregano
Instructions
Brush the tomatoes and onion slices with a thin coating of olive oil.
Grill over hot coals until you have nice grill marks on the onions. Turn the tomatoes frequently to get them fairly evenly charred. Flip the onions to get grill marks on both sides.
Remove from the heat and cool to room temperature. Either proceed with the recipe or refrigerate until cold.
Peel off the tomato skins and compost or discard. They should peel very easily with just your fingers. Trim out any tough core from the tomatoes.
In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the olives a couple of times until they are roughly chopped.
Add the onions and pulse again until chopped. Do the same with the tomatoes and then finish with the cucumber. If you want a smooth soup, go ahead and process until pureed.
Pour the processed vegetables into a bowl. Stir in the red wine vinegar, olive oil, dried oregano, salt and pepper.
Cover and refrigerate for one to four hours so the flavors can marry.
Taste and adjust seasonings.
Serve in a large bowl with the garnishes all on top for presentation and then stir in to serve.
If serving in individual portions. garnish each portion separately to serve.
Notes
Many versions of hariataki include green bell pepper. Feel free to add some either in the soup itself or as garnish. Ditto with capers.