Ingredients
Base
- 4large barley rusks
- 100 mlextra virgin olive oil
Topping
- 4ripe tomatoes
- 200 gmizithra or another soft fresh cheese
- 2 tbspdried Greek oregano
- olives
- capers
- salt
Directions
- Grate the tomatoes on the coarse side of a box grater, holding the cut face against it so that the skin is left flat in your hand and can be thrown away.
- Keep the tomato juice that collects separately from the pulp. You want the juice for wetting the rusk and the pulp for the top.
- Wet each rusk very briefly, with a spoonful of the tomato juice or a few drops of water on the underside only.
- Do not soak it. A dakos rusk should soften just enough to bite through while keeping some resistance in the centre, and a rusk left sitting in liquid collapses into porridge within a minute.
- Set the rusks on plates and drizzle each one generously with olive oil, which also waterproofs the surface against the tomato.
- Pile the grated tomato pulp on top and season it with salt.
- Crumble the mizithra over that, then scatter with dried oregano, olives and capers.
- Pour over more olive oil than seems reasonable. This is a dish of three cheap ingredients and the oil is one of them.
- Leave it for 10 minutes before eating so the rusk softens evenly, and no longer than that.
Technique
- It is a Cretan shepherd’s meal, built on twice-baked barley paximadi that kept for months in a saddlebag without spoiling.
- Dried oregano rather than fresh. The Greek dried kind is far more pungent and it is what the dish tastes of.
- Assemble it at the table. It has a window of about fifteen minutes at its best.
Substitutions
- Feta in place of mizithra, which is saltier and firmer but works.
- Any hard twice-baked rusk, or a thick slice of stale sourdough dried out in a low oven.
Variations
- With capers and caper leaves, which is very Cretan.
- Made small, on individual rusks, as a meze.
- With a little grated onion through the tomato.
History
A Cretan shepherd’s meal built on twice-baked barley paximadi, which kept for months without spoiling.
Frequently asked questions
What is Dakos?
Dakos is a salad & side from Greece: barley rusk softened with tomato, topped with mizithra and oregano. A Cretan shepherd’s meal built on twice-baked barley paximadi, which kept for months without spoiling.
How long does Dakos take to make?
Dakos takes 15 min of preparation and no cooking at all. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Dakos?
Yes, within limits. Feta in place of mizithra, which is saltier and firmer but works. Any hard twice-baked rusk, or a thick slice of stale sourdough dried out in a low oven.
What is the most important thing to get right in Dakos?
Do not soak it. A dakos rusk should soften just enough to bite through while keeping some resistance in the centre, and a rusk left sitting in liquid collapses into porridge within a minute.
