Dakos Salata (Cretan Salad)
If you’ve ever had a Horiatiki Greek salad, you know the best part is scooping and dipping your fresh bread in all the tomato, feta and olive oil juices at the bottom of the bowl. This Dakos salata is the best version of that. The bagels (paksimadia if you’re in Greece) do an amazing job of soaking up the yumminess.
In Greeece we use Paksimadia which are basically dried up pieces of wheat bread. You buy them ready to go and super hard and crispy. My parents would dunk these in water because you might chip a tooth if you try to eat them straight out of the bag. Growing up in New York we have bagels everywhere and I figured they would be the perfect stand-in since most of us are not near a Greek store.
The key to this recipe is allow the salad to sit in the dressing (tossed of course) for at least 20 minutes. This helps the tomatoes release their juices and it all comes together with the seasonings, olive oil and feta to create a delicious flavor bomb. I served mine with some grilled chicken thighs. Chef’s kiss.
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Dakos Salata
Ingredients
- 2 flat bagels
Dressing:
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1-2 tbs red wine vinegar
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1-2 tbs capers
- salt and pepper to taste
Salad:
- 3 medium tomatoes, sliced into wedges
- 1 long cucumber, sliced
- 1/2 small red onion, sliced thin
- 1/3 cup Kalamata olives
- 1/4 cup dill, chopped
- 5 oz feta cheese, crumbled
Instructions
- I used pumpernickel and whole wheat flat bagels, but any kind works here. Slice the bagels in half and then cut them into large chunks. Toast the chunks in your mini toaster oven for 10 minutes or until they get crispy.
- In a salad bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients. Taste and adjust if necessary.
- To the same bowl, add in the tomatoes, cucumber, onion, olives, dill and feta. Toss it all to coat. Let this sit for 20 minutes.
- In a rimmed plate, place 1/4 of the bagel pieces on the bottom. Top with your salad and make sure you add in the juice from the bottom of the bowl to your plate. I like to let this sit for 10 minutes for the bagel pieces to soak up the salad juices fully.
Made this last night along with your lemon chicken (grilled). I did the salad while hubs did the chicken. The toasted bagel chunks under the salad to sop up the vinaigrette is so good. Such a delicious dinner!
Hey Karen, Love the combination you chose – chef’s kiss and I’m glad it was enjoyed by you husband too!!
Amazing
Yay!Glad you liked it!
We ate this salad in Create and it was delicious! I’ve been looking for a recipe for ages but couldn’t remember what it was called. Thank you, summer dinners just got so much better!!
*Crete, not Create. Autocorrect, sigh.
Loved the salad! It was bursting with flavour! I only had sour dough bread so used bits of that, lovely!
I enjoyed how the bread sopped up the salad dressing adding to the cornucopia of awesome flavours! 😋🥰
Hi Wanda, so happy it was enjoyed and yes! The best part of it is the bread lol
How long can salad last in the refrigerator?
Hi Amber, for me, Its not a salad that stores well. The tomatoes and dressing will make everyhting soggy.
Loooooove this salad!!
My husband said it was the best salad he’d ever tasted 😃💕
I cannot wait to make this! Store-bought “Greek Dressing” just doesn’t quite cut it. It just tastes wrong somehow.
It never occurred to me to put bread in the bottom! I’ve got lots of capers, bc I love lox with cream cheese on heavy rye bread or bagels with red onion, capers & a squeeze of lemon juice… interesting addition to a salad dressing — do you leave them while or chop them up?
I’ve been roaming your website, bookmarking recipes & making a list of what to make first. Thank you for so many great-looking dishes!
Hi Erin, happy you liked the recipes – thank you so much! Yes, you can chop up the capers to release their flavors!
Made this exactly as written and it was delicious
Hi Magda, Awesome! Glad you liked the salad and thanks for taking the time to rate the recipe!
Love love this salad. I could eat it everyday like all of your recipes.
I made this recipe it’s very tasty