Cretan Dakos

I had these while in Crete. Served as a meze alongside some ouzo. They were so good and filling!

Like normal bruschetta, no cooking is involved and the acidity of the tomatoes is paired nicely with the olives and the feta.

While rusk may be hard to find at your local supermarket, search for Mediterranean or ethnic food stores to carry it.

However, you can make your own rusk by placing bread (we used a French baguette) in the oven on low heat (120F) for 2-3hrs until crispy. It’s important to bake on low heat!

You can also let the bread sit overnight so it becomes hard.

The combination of flavors is reminiscent of bruschetta with the added flavor produced from the olives.

I personally think that if you enjoy bruschetta, you will love Cretan Dakos.

It’s easy and doesn’t take long to make (if you have rusk on hand).

καλή όρεξη! (Kali orexi – enjoy your meal!)

Cretan Kritikos Dakos

Yield: 4

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

This dish is native to Crete. They are very good and no cooking is involved.

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Ingredients

• 8 slices of day old French bread (replace with rusk if available)
• 1 fresh tomato
• Dash of oregano
• 7-10 Kalamata olives, diced
• 1/3 cup feta
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. If using rusk: soak the rusk in water for a few mins to soften just a bit.
2. Dice tomato, removing soft center with seeds - set aside.
3. In and bowl, mix: tomatoes, oregano, feta, olive oil, salt, and pepper.
4. Mash soft center from tomato, spread over french bread/rusk.
5. Add tomato mixture to top of bread.
6. Top with diced Kalamata olives.
7. Serve with wine!

Notes

You can bypass soaking the rusk. You can either use canned tomato (save the juices from the cans and pour over rusk before adding mixture) or sprinkle with water.
If you don't have rusk/don't like them, you can always use your favorite hard bread