Dakos (Cretan Barley Rusk with Tomato and Feta)

A friend of mine from Crete introduced me to dakos years ago at a dinner party, and I remember thinking it looked deceptively humble, a dried bread disc with tomato piled on top, right before it became one of the things I request whenever we visit her. It turns out that is very on brand for Cretan cooking generally, 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, olive oil and oregano is the classic combination, and the magic is in the contrast, the rusk staying just barely crisp at the center while the tomato juice softens the edges. I think of it as a distant cousin to my salada de pimentos assados (recipe on the site), that same faith that a few good ingredients do not need much help.

Barley rusks are not always easy to find in the US, so I will give you a shortcut using thick slices of stale country bread, twice-toasted in a low oven until properly dried out. It is not exactly the same, but it gets you close enough that my Cretan friend gave it her approval, which in our house counts as an official stamp.

Dakos Recipe

Prep time: 15 minutes · Cook time: 20 minutes · Total: 35 minutes · Servings: 4 · Calories: ~240 per serving

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

Instructions

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Season the tomato pulp with a pinch of salt and pepper.
4. 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.
5. Spoon the tomato pulp generously over each piece, letting it soak in a little at the edges.
6. Top with crumbled feta, olives, and capers.
7. 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.

Recipe Notes

• Barley rusks are sold at some Mediterranean or Greek specialty grocers and online, but the twice-baked bread method here is a very good substitute.
• Use the ripest, juiciest tomatoes you can find. This dish has almost nowhere to hide a mediocre tomato.
• Dakos does not keep well once assembled, since the whole appeal is the texture contrast, so build it right before serving.
• A drizzle of good honey alongside the olive oil is a lesser-known variation worth trying if you like a little sweetness against the salty feta.