The most beloved salad in Crete is, without a doubt, dakos. It is prepared very quickly with Cretan barley rusk, olive oil, feta cheese and tomato. It is a very simple and light meal that is refreshing and nutritious, especially on hot summer days. With very few ingredients, a very healthy, filling, and tasty meal is made.
The dish is based on very simple, fresh, local ingredients. Dakos is a double-baked bread that, since ancient times, was made in Crete when it was difficult to have fresh bread every day. They made bread, cut it into slices, baked it, separated the slices and baked it again until it became rusk. The superior quality of Cretan olive oil, the deliciousness of summer tomatoes, the variety of white soft cheeses and the incomparable taste of herbs, capers or oregano, make the dish unique with gastronomy awards worldwide. The preparation of the salad is easy and creates a taste that excites everybody.
What you need is:
1 large round barley rusk, or two smaller ones,
2 small ripe tomatoes,
50 grams of feta, or another Cretan white cheese of your choice, mizithra, xynomyzithra or another,
1 teaspoon of capers or oregano,
salt,
a tablespoon of olive oil and 2-3 olives.
On a plate, put two rusks (if they are very hard, we can moisten them slightly), grate the tomato, or cut it into small pieces and put it on the rusk, crumble the cheese on the tomato, add oregano or capers, salt, a little olive oil and 2-3 olives.
Dakos is a meal with great nutritional value and the pure ingredients used offer valuable nutrients, such as calcium, monounsaturated fatty acids, which contribute to the regulation of blood cholesterol, vitamins, fiber and antioxidants, such as lycopene, which protects against free radicals. Its consumption helps in digestion and proper bowel function.
Dakos is, without a doubt, the favorite salad for Cretans and visitors. It is recommended as a snack, a full lunch, and even an evening meal.
(More articles about Crete on www.gomega.gr
