Cretan Dakos Salad
When the afternoon is too hot to turn on the stove, a pile of ripe tomatoes and crunchy barley rusks can absolutely save dinner. I first had dakos as a lazy seaside lunch, and the trick is letting…
Ingredients
- 8 ounces Cretan barley rusks or thick whole-grain crackers
- 1 1/2 pounds ripe tomatoes, grated or finely chopped
- 6 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
- 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 small red onion, very thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons capers, drained
- 3 ounces Kalamata olives, pitted and halved
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Instructions
- Grate the tomatoes on the large holes of a box grater into a bowl, stopping when you reach the skins. Stir in the red wine vinegar and half of the oregano.
- Arrange the barley rusks on a wide platter or four shallow bowls. If they’re very thick and hard, sprinkle each with a tablespoon or two of the tomato juices to help them soften.
- Spoon the grated tomatoes evenly over the rusks, making sure the juices reach the edges. Let everything stand for 5 minutes so the centers soften while the rims keep some crunch.
- Scatter the sliced red onion, capers, and Kalamata olives over the tomatoes. Keep the toppings loose and uneven—dakos is meant to look rustic, not arranged like a restaurant salad.
- Top with the crumbled feta, then drizzle generously with the olive oil and sprinkle with the remaining oregano.
- Serve immediately at cool room temperature, giving each person a fork and plenty of tomato-soaked rusk in every bite.
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