Spicy Feta and Red Pepper Dip
Photo Credit : Adam DeTour/styling by Catrine KeltyHere’s a take on tirokafteri, a creamy, lightly spicy feta dip from Greece that every cook should have in their repertoire when company is coming.
Yield:
2 cupsIngredients
¼ cup olive oil
½–1 teaspoon red chili flakes
1 red pepper, stemmed, seeded, and quartered
12 ounces fresh feta (preferably packaged in brine)
Zest and juice of ½ large lemon
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon honey
Instructions
In a small saucepan over medium heat, warm the olive oil and chili flakes until very small bubbles form on the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat and set aside.
Set your broiler to high heat. Arrange the red pepper pieces, skin side up, on a foil-lined baking sheet and broil 3 to 4 inches from the heating element until the skin is partly blackened and the flesh is soft, 7 to 10 minutes. (Keep a close eye as the pepper cooks.) Remove and discard the blackened skin. Put the rest into a food processor or blender.
Break up the feta into small chunks and add to the pepper, along with the lemon zest and juice, garlic, honey, and olive oil with chili flakes. Pulse until smooth. Transfer to a bowl, drizzle with olive oil, and serve with pita or toasted bread slices. The dip can be made up to 3 days in advance and kept covered in the refrigerator.
Amy Traverso
Amy Traverso is the senior food editor at Yankee magazine and co-host of the public television series Weekends with Yankee, a coproduction with WGBH. Previously, she was food editor at Boston magazine and an associate food editor at Sunset magazine. Her work has also been published in The Boston Globe, Saveur, and Travel & Leisure, and she has appeared on Hallmark Home & Family, The Martha Stewart Show, Throwdown with Bobby Flay, and Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares. Amy is the author of The Apple Lover’s Cookbook, which was a finalist for the Julia Child Award for best first-time author and won an IACP Cookbook Award in the “American” category.
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