Skip to main content

Dakos for #OneYrGreek #sponsor #giveaway

When BenBella Books invited me to join the first anniversary book tour for It's All Greek to Me -- Transform Your Health the Mediterranean Way with my Family's Century-Old Recipes from Debbie Matenopoulos, I was excited.

First, I love Greek food. Second, I loved the cookbook when I reviewed it back in November (click to read my post Souvlaki from Debbie Matenopoulos' "It's All Greek toMe" {#sponsor Book Review & Giveaway}).

Five months have gone by and that cookbook is still near the top of my cookbook stack. Now that's saying something. I have a lot of cookbooks. And, after I review a cookbook for a publisher, it often gets shelved and not pulled out until I remember something I wanted to try. But this one excels in inspiring me with its vibrant photography and easy-to-follow recipes. So, it has stayed in my to-read, or to-cook, stack right next to the couch where I read and plan my recipes. Today, I'm sharing Debbie's recipe for Dakos.

Dakos
photo courtesy BenBella Books
Dakos (Greek Bruschetta) from It's All Greek to Me by Debbie Matenopoulos

Dakos is a traditional Cretan mezze salad that takes what I would normally serve as a just salad and makes it hearty enough for a meal. In Crete, this salad is served on top of a barley rusk, called a paximadi. A rusk is just a twice-baked bread toasted to crisp. I had originally dug up a recipe to make my own paximadi, but I ran out of time. So, I opted for a nice crusty round from a local bakery. Also, I went for smaller, appetizer sized rolls instead of the larger traditional ones. Someday I'll make my own paximadi!

Matenopoulos notes: "choose very ripe, almost overly so, tomatoes so that their juice will really soak into the rusk beneath them. To make this vegan, just add another tomato and omit the feta." I opted for organic cherry tomatoes in red, orange, and yellow instead of larger tomatoes because the larger ones weren't quite ripe enough; also, I used only fresh herbs.


Ingredients serves 4

  • 2 crusty rolls, sliced in half with the top sliced enough to allow it to sit flat
  • olive oil
  • 3 to 4 C diced organic tomatoes or halved cherry tomatoes
  • freshly ground salt to taste
  • freshly ground pepper to taste + more for garnish
  • 2 C brine-packed whole milk feta, crumbled
  • 2 T fresh dill, chopped + more for garnish
  • 2 t  fresh oregano, chopped + more for garnish
Procedure
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly brush the cut side of the bread with olive oil and place on a baking stone. Toast until crisped and golden, approximately 8 to 10 minutes. Watch it carefully to make certain it doesn't burn.

In a mixing bowl, toss together the tomatoes and herbs with a splash of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.



To serve: Place a heap of the tomato mixture on top of the toasted bread. Add a layer of feta on top of the tomatoes. Garnish with more fresh herbs and grind fresh pepper around the plate.

καλή όρεξη
(Bon Appetit, in Greek)

I thoroughly enjoyed cooking from It's All Greek to Me and am looking forward to trying my hand are more Greek recipes in the future. Now on to the part you've all be waiting for - the giveaway.

Giveaway
photo courtesy BenBella Books

One of my lucky US readers - sorry, everyone else! - can enter to win a copy of It's All Greek to Me by Debbie Matenopoulos, courtesy of BenBella Books, Inc. Giveaway runs from today - April 16th - till April 27th at midnight, Pacific time. Please see terms and conditions in the rafflecopter widget below.


Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of Debbie Matenopoulos’s It’s All Greek To Me Cookbook to review plus the opportunity to give a copy away. Opinions are my own. I received no further compensation for my post or review.

Comments

  1. Hi Cam, I don't really want to win I just want to see what other things you included in your giveaway. My post is coming up in a couple of days.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for commenting. Can't wait to see what you share!

      Delete
  2. I have had an obsession with Spanakopita since I was little. Something about the flaky crust, I think.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love greek food! I had a great trip to greece like 6 years ago. I'd love to go back. I love loukoumades.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Though I lived in the Mediterranean for over a year, I never made it to Greece. Boo.

      Delete
  4. My favorite Greek dish is Pastitsio! It is so delicious & rich...so it's a once or twice a year treat for me!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Pastitsio here too! So many other dishes- it is hard to pick an absolute favorite!

    ReplyDelete
  6. My favorite Greek dish (or more like food) is Spanakopitas.

    ReplyDelete
  7. My favorite Greek dish (or more like food) is Spanakopitas.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Wonderful blog! This is very informative site. I am totally pleased by your excellent work. Many thanks for sharing.
    Friv 4
    Friv 5
    Friv 100
    Happy Wheels

    ReplyDelete
  9. This was a really great contest and hopefully I can attend the next one. It was alot of fun and I really enjoyed
    Super smash flash 2|
    Super mario bros|
    Cooking games for girls

    ReplyDelete
  10. when you see the stress in work, life, friv could well be a good site to try. thanks you for sharing friv games, friv online, friv.com, friv

    ReplyDelete
  11. Play the Best Free Games! We've picked out the racing games, cooking games, candy crush, games shooting, fashion games, ...
    Thanks for sharing !
    Kizi 200
    Friv 1
    Y88
    Y9

    ReplyDelete
  12. You want to relax after a stressful working hours. Refer to our website. Hope you get the most comfort.
    Thanks for sharing !
    GirlsGoGames
    Kizi 100
    Frvi

    ReplyDelete
  13. Not all are true. Everyone has their own way of thinking but I think they have to reconsider. I like to argue for the most accurate results.
    http://fivenightsatfreddysplay.com

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Quick Pickled Red Onions and Radishes

If you've been reading my blog for even a short amount of time, you probably know how much I love to pickle things. I was just telling a friend you can pickle - with vinegar - or you can ferment - with salt - for similar delicious effect. The latter has digestive benefits and I love to do that, but when I need that pop of sour flavor quickly, I whip up quick pickles that are ready in as little as a day or two. I've Pickled Blueberries , Pickled Asparagus , Pickled Cranberries , Pickled Pumpkin , and even Pickled Chard Stems ! This I did last night for an upcoming recipe challenge that requires I include radishes. Ummmm...of course I'm pickling them! Ingredients  makes 1 quart jar radishes, trimmed and sliced organic red onions, peeled and thinly sliced (I used a mandolin slicer) 3/4 C vinegar (I used white distilled vinegar) 3/4 C water 3 T organic granulated sugar 1 T salt (I used some grey sea salt) 6 to 8 grinds of black pepper Proce

Aloo Tiki {Pakistan}

To start off our Pakistani culinary adventure, I started us off with aloo tiki - potato cutlets. I'm always game for tasty street food. I found a couple of different recipes and incorporated those together for this version. Ingredients 6-8 small red potatoes, scrubbed 1 T cumin seeds 1 T fresh chopped parsley 1/2 t ground coriander 1 t minced garlic Procedure Boil the potatoes until they are tender. Drain and let cool. Mash the potatoes. Traditionally they are mashed without their skins. I left the skins on. In a small pan, toast the cumin seeds on high heat until the begin to give off an aroma and begin to darken. Remove from heat and transfer to a plate to keep them from cooking any more. Blend all of the spices into the mashed potatoes, then shape into small patties. If you wet your hands, the potato mixture won't stick to them. Heat a splash of oil in a large, flat-bottom pan. Dip each patty into beaten egg and carefully place in the oil. P

Meyer Lemon Custard-Filled Matcha Turtles #BreadBakers

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our of lovely bread by following our  Pinterest board  right here. Links are also updated after each event on the  Bread Bakers home page .  We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. This month Stacy of Food Lust People Love  is hosting and she wrote: "Your bread can be large, as in one big animal, or small - animal-shaped rolls. Use your imagination! Points for flavor and shape!" If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send an email with your blog URL to Stacy at foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com. Here's the animal-shaped bread basket from the #BreadBakers... Beef and Sweet Onion Dim Sum Pandas from Karen's Kitchen Stories Bird Bread Rolls from Ambrosia Easter Bunny Buns from Cook with Renu Ham and Cheese Elephant Rolls from Food Lust People Love Hedgehog Bread from Making Mir