How to make ”Dakos” a “tapas” for every occasion.

How to make ”Dakos” a “tapas” for every occasion.

Dakos is a dish that seems to hold the Aegean sun upon it. At its heart lies the paximadi, the Cretan barley rusk, hard as stone until it’s touched by a little water and a little extra virgin olive oil. That is how you prepare it: within seconds it softens just enough, while keeping its rugged soul. Paximadia for dakos can be found in various shops selling Greek products across Berlin. Soon, I’ll consider whether I can bring the small rusk made in Sparta, Laconia, exceptional in quality and slightly different from the Cretan one. On top, you crumble ripe tomatoes — the kind that smell of warm fields — and add a generous spoonful of myzithra or feta cheese. A thin stream of extra virgin olive oil , bright, green-gold, with a gentle pepperiness, follows, along with oregano that recalls the stone terraces and hillsides of the Aegean islands and the Peloponnese. A few olives, a pinch of sea salt, and...
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New in Berlin: Sea Salt from Mani Peninsula

New in Berlin: Sea Salt from Mani Peninsula

My passion for high-quality products—those worth bringing from the southern Peloponnese to a city like Berlin—led me to the wild coasts of Mani, perhaps the most beautiful and rugged landscape in the Peloponnese. There, where cliffs drop sharply into the sea and the light seems to scrape against the rocks, the people of the small villages continue an ancient craft: harvesting salt by hand. The salt is born in natural rock pools. Every day, the sea sends in waves that fill these stone basins; the water recedes, leaving behind its white mark—the salt, which dries under the sun, hardens, and waits to be gathered. The grains are carefully cleaned, not by machines, but by human attention and patience. Untouched by further processing, this salt retains the full richness of the minerals and trace elements gifted to it by the sea. Its flavor is deep, almost earthy, able to elevate even the simplest dish. Its delicate flakes crumble between the fingers like tiny...
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