Cretan Dakos: Raw, Rustic, and Real
A true taste of Crete: crunchy barley rusk, ripe tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil, and feta come together in the simple, rustic Dakos salad.
Dakos is what Cretan shepherds ate in the field: hard barley rusk, whatever the tomato plant gave that morning, cheese, and oil. There is no cooking involved, which means there is nowhere for a mediocre ingredient to hide.
The one rule
Do not soak the rusk in water. Let the tomato juice and the olive oil soften it — that is the entire technique, and it is why the oil has to be one you would happily eat from a spoon.
Ingredients
- 2 large barley rusks (paximadia)
- 2 very ripe tomatoes, coarsely grated
- 120 g feta or mizithra, crumbled
- 4 tbsp Memilon Crete extra virgin olive oil
- Dried oregano
- A few Kalamata olives
- Sea salt
Method
- Hold each rusk briefly under a running tap — a second, no more — then set on a plate. It should be barely damp, not wet.
- Grate the tomatoes on the coarse side of a box grater, discarding the skins, and season the pulp with a pinch of sea salt.
- Spoon the tomato generously over the rusks and leave for two or three minutes so the juice works through.
- Crumble the feta over the top, scatter the olives, and rub dried oregano between your palms over the plate.
- Finish with a heavy pour of extra virgin olive oil — more than feels reasonable — and eat immediately, while the rusk still has bite.
Four ingredients and no heat. Dakos is the dish that shows you exactly how good your olive oil is.
The oil this needs
Crete Koroneiki — grassy and peppery enough to stand up to the tomato and cheese.
