Dakos looks deceptively humble, a dried barley rusk with tomato piled on top, and that is very on brand for Cretan cooking: simple ingredients treated with total confidence, nothing hiding behind sauce or technique.

Dakos is built on a twice-baked barley rusk called paximadi, dry and dense enough to survive a Cretan pantry for months, which farmers used to soak in water before topping with whatever the garden offered that day.

Grated ripe tomato, crumbled feta (or the Cretan cheese mizithra), olive oil and oregano is the classic combination, and the magic is in the contrast: the rusk stays just barely crisp at the center while the tomato juice softens the edges. It shares a philosophy with our salada de pimentos assados (recipe on the site): a few good ingredients do not need much help.

Barley rusks are not always easy to find in the US, so the notes include a shortcut using thick slices of stale country bread, twice-toasted in a low oven until properly dried out. It is not identical, but it gets very close.

Dakos Recipe

What you need

Ingredients

4 thick slices stale country bread or sourdough, or 4 store-bought barley rusks (paximadi)
2 large ripe tomatoes, halved
4 oz feta cheese, crumbled
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 cup Kalamata olives, pitted
1 tablespoon capers, drained
Salt and black pepper, to taste

Cook along

Instructions

If using fresh bread instead of barley rusks, slice it thick, place on a baking sheet, and bake at 300 degrees F for about 20 minutes, flipping once, until completely dried out and crisp all the way through.
Grate the cut side of each tomato half on the large holes of a box grater directly into a bowl, letting the skin stay behind in your hand and discarding it. You should end up with a chunky, juicy tomato pulp.
Season the tomato pulp with a pinch of salt and pepper.
Lightly dampen each rusk or dried bread slice with a splash of water if it is very hard, then drizzle with a little olive oil so it starts to soften slightly.
Spoon the tomato pulp generously over each piece, letting it soak in a little at the edges.
Top with crumbled feta, olives, and capers.
Drizzle with the remaining olive oil and sprinkle with oregano just before serving. Serve immediately, while the bread still has some bite in the center.