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Papua New GuineaFlavors · Creta
Dry barley rusk, moistened and topped with grated tomato, fresh mizithra or feta cheese, olive oil and oregano, sometimes with olives and capers. It’s the best-known snack and light meal of Cretan cuisine.
Traditional dish from Creta
Also known as: Ντάκος, ntakos, koukouvagia, κουκουβάγια, kouloukopsomo
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
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Dakos — Creta, Greece
Dakos starts from paximadi, a baked barley bread that is sliced and baked again until completely dry. In Crete, where fresh bread wasn’t always available in the countryside and mountains, these hard rusks were kept for months. The culinary portal of Greek broadcaster SKAI describes the barley rusk as an ancient survival food of Cretans.
To make dakos, the rusk is quickly passed under water, just to soften the surface, and topped with grated ripe tomato, including the juice. Over that goes fresh mizithra (or crumbled feta), dried oregano and plenty of olive oil. Black olives and capers complete the dish in many versions. The rusk soaks up the tomato and oil and becomes soft on top while still crunchy underneath.
The name varies across the island. Dakos or ntakos is the most common form; koukouvagia, “owl,” is another name used in Crete, and in the eastern part of the island the rusk is also called kouloukopsomo.
Dakos is served as meze with tsikoudia or wine, and also as a light summer meal (June to August), when tomatoes are at their best.
Creta
Dakos is a dish from across the island of Crete, made with the barley rusk that Cretans kept for days without fresh bread.
Dry barley rusk (paximadi), grated ripe tomato, fresh mizithra or feta cheese, olive oil, dried oregano and salt. In many versions, black olives and capers.
Right after assembling, eaten with a fork or by hand, while the rusk is still crunchy underneath. As a snack to share or a light meal.
Everyday snack and light meal, especially in summer (June to August).
Your questions
A dry barley rusk moistened and topped with grated tomato, mizithra or feta cheese, olive oil and oregano. It’s a traditional Cretan dish served as a snack or light meal.
Koukouvagia means “owl” in Greek. It’s another name used for the dish in Crete, especially in Rethymno.
Traditionally mizithra, a fresh Cretan cheese. Crumbled feta is also common.
Flavors of Greece
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Layered baked tart of thinly sliced zucchini and potato, with mizithra cheese and mint, sometimes topped with pastry. It is named for Chania, in western Crete, and is a summer dish (June to August), when zucchini are in season.
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Thin slices of beef dredged in flour, browned and cooked in a light sauce of white wine or wine vinegar, with plenty of garlic, parsley and pepper. It is a Corfu dish of Venetian heritage, served with potatoes, rice or pasta.
Grape marc brandy distilled in Crete after the harvest, without anise. It has a geographical indication as Tsikoudia of Crete, is served chilled in small glasses, and accompanies Cretan hospitality from the start to the end of a meal.
Fried patties made from chopped tomato, scallion, herbs and flour, served as a snack. They are a specialty of Santorini, made with the island’s small tomato, grown without irrigation in volcanic soil.
Sweet natural white wine from Santorini, made with Assyrtiko, Aidani and Athiri grapes dried in the sun and aged for a long time in barrel. It ranges in color from amber to dark brown and is part of the Protected Designation of Origin Santorini.
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Mykonos onion pie, filled with onion, the island’s fresh cheese tyrovolia, eggs and dill, between two layers of pastry. It is noted as one of the island’s oldest and most traditional recipes.
Sweet fortified red wine from the Patras region, made mainly from the Mavrodafni grape and aged in barrels until it develops notes of raisins, coffee and dried fruit. It has a protected designation of origin and is the dessert wine most associated with the city.
Toasted sesame and honey bar with almonds, orange peel and spices, cut into diamond shapes. It is Rhodes’ sweet offered at weddings and baptisms and has a Protected Geographical Indication from the European Union.
Pomace brandy (grape marc), with or without anise, served chilled in small bottles with snacks. It has geographical indications for Thessaly and for Tyrnavos, and in Volos it gives its name to the houses where each round arrives with a meze.
Pie made with very thin pastry, open and layered, filled with semolina custard and topped with sugar and cinnamon. It is also made savory, with cheese, ground meat or spinach. In Thessaloniki it is eaten in the morning with coffee and sold in pieces cut to order.
