037Whipped feta and pepper dip

Method

Northern Greek tavern style. Serve as a meze with crusty bread, warm pitta, or raw vegetables.

You will need

• Food processor
• Grill or gas burner
• Mixing bowl

1. Char the whole sweet red pepper and chilli under a hot grill or directly over a gas flame until the skins are thoroughly blackened and blistered all over. 10 min Ready when: skins blackened and loose
2. Transfer the charred peppers to a bowl, cover tightly with a plate for 10 minutes to steam, then peel off the skins and discard the stems and seeds. 10 min Ready when: peels slip away easily
3. Place the roasted sweet pepper, chopped chilli, and red wine vinegar into a food processor and pulse until finely chopped but not pureed liquid. 1 min Ready when: chopped finely into a rough relish
4. Add the crumbled feta, then pulse repeatedly while drizzling in the olive oil until the mixture is thick, spreadable, and emulsified with visible flecks of pepper. 2 min Ready when: emulsified into a thick, rustic dip
5. Transfer the dip to a serving dish, season with black pepper and oregano if desired, and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before serving with warm crusty bread. 30 min Ready when: firmed slightly and flavours married

Tap a step to tick it off.

Make ahead and storing

Keeps exceptionally well and actually benefits from being made a day in advance.

Fridge 5 days in an airtight container.

Substitutions

• Jarred roasted Florina peppers for Sweet red pepper (Florina type). Drain and pat thoroughly dry on paper towels before blending to prevent wateriness.
• 70% feta combined with 30% anthotyros or Greek strained yoghurt for Feta. Softens the saltiness and creates a milder, exceptionally smooth emulsion.

Common mistakes

• Adding salt to the recipe. Greek feta carries abundant salt from the brine; adding extra will make the spread unpalatable.
• Pureeing into baby food. Over-processing turns the feta thin and gummy rather than thick and textured.

Regional variants

• Macedonian htipiti with only green horn peppers
• Thessalian tirokafteri made with strained sheep yoghurt added for creaminess

About the dish

Tirokafteri, also known as htipiti across parts of northern Greece, is a staple taverna meze. The name translates roughly to 'beaten' or 'spicy cheese', reflecting the mechanical pounding of brined curd with roasted peppers and oil that preceded modern food processors. While widespread nationwide today, its heartland is firmly rooted in Macedonia and Thessaly, where sheep-farming traditions provided pungent, firm barrel-aged feta that could balance the assertive heat of local peppers.

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

Cousins elsewhere

• Haydari (Turkish). Both are rich strained-dairy meze spreads, though tirokafteri relies on brined feta and piquant roasted peppers rather than garlic and strained yoghurt alone.
• Urnebes (Balkan). A southern Balkan spread combining white brined cheese with roasted hot and sweet peppers.

Nutrition per serving (estimate)

299 kcal · protein 9.2 g · fat 27.2 g (saturated 11.2 g) · carbohydrate 4.7 g (sugars 4 g) · fibre 0.7 g · sodium 700 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. Rooted in the northern taverna style where roasted spicy peppers cut through rich sheep-milk feta..

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