Dakos

Dakos is a traditional salad from the Greek island of Crete. We've never been but when we recently saw a bag of dakos rusks at a local deli I knew I had to make this dish. It turned out really well, so much so we really need a trip to Crete in the near future!

Ingredients

6 dakos rusks (or thick slices of wholemeal sourdough, oven baked into dry croutons)
500g ripe tomatoes, roughly cut into bite-size pieces
300g mizithra cheese (or feta), crumbled
1 red onions, finely diced
80g black kalamata olives, pitted and roughly chopped
1 tbsp capers, roughly chopped
20g flat-leaf parsley, chopped
20g basil, chopped
1 tsp dried oregano
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
4 tbsp good quality extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra to serve
salt, to taste
black pepper, to taste

Method

In a large bowl add all the chopped tomatoes, red onion, capers, black olives, parsley, basil and dried oregano.

In a small bowl combine the red wine vinegar and olive oil then add to the salad. Season with  salt and black pepper. Stir well and taste. Adjust the seasoning if necessary.  Set aside to allow it to infuse.

Cut the rusks into irregular bite-sized pieces and add to the salad. Stir well. 

Leave for 10-15 minutes before giving it another stir to give all the rusk pieces time to soak in some of the flavoursome juices.  Leave for another 10-15 minutes. The rusks should be softened but not soggy. 

To serve, remove a tablespoon or two of the mixed dakos salad. Pour the rest of it into a serving bowl. 

Crumble over the mizithra (or feta) cheese.  Sprinkle over the reserved tablespoon of salad. Add a pinch of oregano and a drizzle of olive oil.