Greek people take hospitality very seriously. Their word for it is “Philoxenia,” which means “friend to a stranger.”. It is an unwritten cultural rule that shows kindness and consideration to strangers. Inherently, it derives from the ancient Greeks, as hospitality was a sacred duty. Anyone who “rang the bell” could be a god in disguise, just there to see how welcoming the homeowner really is. Zeus often concealed himself to test the mortals on this. He was not just the king of the gods but also “the visitor’s god”, known by the epithet Zeus Xenios.
The spirit of Greek hospitality is definitely alive, and you can find it all over Greece. During our vacation in the Peloponnese, our landlady would pop by almost every other day with fresh fruits, veggies, homemade jams, or baked treats. Since one of her relatives owned a bakery, we found ourselves with big bags of barley rusks. I wasn’t sure how to make this earthy delicacy to use, so I decided to ask her for a recipe. That summer, I learnt how to put together a simple and fresh Dakos Salad. I really enjoyed how I could modify this salad by adding different ingredients to suit each family member’s taste. Here is the recipe:
Ingredients for the basic salad:
Barley rusks (preferably Greek)
Fresh, ripe tomatoes
Feta cheese or Mizithra cheese (In Greece I use mizithra cheese as I like the strong, salty taste of it, but I go for Feta at home)
Kalamata olives
Extra virgin olive oil
Dried oregano
Sea salt
For the variations:
Capers
Balsamic vinegar
Dried tomatoes
Red onion, finely chopped
Method:
Dip the rusks in water; do not soak them, do it quickly! Put the moistened rusks on a plate and drizzle with olive oil. Grate one tomato and top the rusks with it. Season it with sea salt, but be aware that the cheese is salty itself as it is stored in brine (I like to put some pepper too). Finely chop another tomato and place it on the top. Crumble the cheese all over the chopped tomato and sprinkle with some oregano. Drizzle generously with olive oil and add some olives.
The salad is done, but not for me, as I like to ‘personalise’ it to suit all my family members or guests’ tastes. I put some capers and chopped red onion on mine; my husband likes it with balsamic vinegar; my daughter prefers Feta instead of the Mizithra cheese; and my son needs an extra portion of olives and dried tomatoes on it. It can be easily adapted to everybody’s taste.
Enjoy!
Creative variations: each one modified slightly to suit all our family members’ tastes
