Cretan Dakos Salad

Simple Cretan tomato and feta rusks served as a Greek appetiser

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Cretan Dakos is a rustic Greek dish of crisp barley rusks topped with juicy grated tomatoes, creamy feta, oregano and generous olive oil — a simple taste of the Mediterranean ready in minutes.

Prep Time10

Total Time10

Course: Appetiser, Lunch, Mezze

Cuisine: Cretan, Greek

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings:

Calories: 320kcal

Author: Lee

Ingredients

8 small barley rusks
3 tomatoes
200 g feta (crumbled)
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp dried oregano
Salt & Pepper
8 Kalamata olives

Instructions

Finely chop or grate the tomato and season with salt & pepper. Drizzle in about 2 tbsp of olive oil and mix well.
Briefly run the rusks under cold water for 1 second each, or sprinkle lightly with water. They should stay firm and crunchy in the middle.
Arrange on a platter, then add a spoonful of tomato over each.
Follow with a spoonful of crumbled feta and add an olive on top.
Lastly, sprinkle each with a little oregano and then a final drizzle of olive oil.
Leave for a 2-3 minutes to allow the tomato juice to soak in a little then serve.

Notes

Tips

Use the ripest tomatoes you can find — dakos relies on their sweetness and juice.
Don’t soak the rusks too heavily or they’ll turn soggy.Good quality extra virgin olive oil makes a huge difference here.
Let the dakos sit for a minute or two before serving so the rusks soften slightly while still retaining crunch.
Feta works beautifully, but mizithra gives a more authentic Cretan flavour.
Olives and capers add a lovely salty, briny contrast.

Storage

Dakos is best assembled and eaten immediately. As it sits, the rusks soften and lose their signature texture, so I don’t recommend making it ahead or storing leftovers.

Nutrition