039Baked feta with tomato and pepper

Method

Clay dish oven-baked version. Serve piping hot straight from the baking dish alongside plentiful country bread.

You will need

• Small ceramic or earthenware baking dish

1. Preheat a conventional oven to 200°C (400°F). 10 min · 200°C / 400°F Ready when: oven reaches cooking temperature
2. Pour 1 tablespoon of olive oil into the bottom of a small ovenproof earthenware or ceramic baking dish that snugly fits the cheese. 1 min Ready when: base of dish lightly coated
3. Place two slices of tomato in the dish, set the slab of feta directly on top, then cover the cheese with remaining tomato slices and green pepper rings. 3 min Ready when: feta layered evenly with vegetables
4. Sprinkle the chilli flakes, oregano, and black pepper over the top, then drizzle generously with the remaining olive oil. 1 min Ready when: surface seasoned and glossy
5. Bake uncovered in the upper third of the oven until the vegetables are softened, the feta is tender and yielding, and the edges begin to brown slightly. 20 min · 200°C / 400°F Ready when: juices bubbling vigorously and cheese soft to the touch

Tap a step to tick it off.

Make ahead and storing

Can be assembled in the dish several hours ahead and kept in the fridge until ready to bake.

Fridge 2 days, though best enjoyed freshly baked.

Substitutions

• Kefalotyri or Kasseri alongside feta (bouyiourdi style) for Greek feta (in brine). Mixing a hard melting cheese with feta adds stringy, bubbling richness.
• Hot green pepper (piperia keras) for Green horn pepper. Delivers genuine northern Greek heat if hot peppers are preferred over sweet horn peppers.

Common mistakes

• Using cow-milk salad cheese instead of genuine Greek feta. Salad cheeses lack structure, liquefy into an unappealing grease slick, and do not hold their shape.
• Baking covered with foil when crisp browning is desired. Traps steam and boils the vegetables rather than roasting them against the cheese.

Regional variants

• Bouyiourdi from Thessaloniki baked with extra shredded kasseri cheese
• Wrapped in foil parcels (sto hartocharto) for charcoal grilling

About the dish

Feta psiti is an elemental taverna meze especially associated with northern Greece and Macedonia, where it is frequently baked wrapped in foil (feta bouyiourdi-style) or in shallow unglazed clay pots. Rather than melting into liquid, true sheep-and-goat milk feta softens, warms through, and absorbs the juices of ripe summer tomatoes and pungent green peppers. Traditionally spiked with dried wild oregano, chilli flakes, and abundant olive oil, it is placed at the centre of the table for communal dipping with crusty sourdough bread.

Found in Macedonia, Thessaly. Cooked for everyday, summer.

Cousins elsewhere

• Fırında beyaz peynir (Turkish). Brined white cheeses baked with herbs and summer vegetables are standard tavern appetisers across the Aegean.
• Jibneh bil furn (Levantine). Spiced baked salty cheeses served piping hot in small earthenware dishes.

Nutrition per serving (estimate)

236 kcal · protein 7.7 g · fat 21.1 g (saturated 8.9 g) · carbohydrate 4.8 g (sugars 3.6 g) · fibre 1 g · sodium 561 mg

An estimate (summed from ingredient estimates) that varies with the exact ingredients. It is not dietary advice.

Written fresh by Epikouria editors from general culinary tradition. Recipe by the Epikouria editors. Northern Greek taverna tradition of baked brined cheese with summer vegetables and dried oregano..

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