Recently, Jane and I were in a department store just browsing. We found a little area that had a bunch of knick knacks so we went over to have a look. We found this awesome little wall decoration that I took a picture of and shared over on Instagram today. I think we can all agree, it’s words to live by:
Being with family, eating well, and traveling can be called the trifecta of a happy life. At least that’s our humble opinion.
For us, cooking and exploring the foods of Greece and the Mediterranean has been such an incredible journey. We still have so much more to do, which excites us to no end. We strive to eat well. To share our recipes we create with friends and enjoy a warm meal with family. In a way it completes us.
As a matter of fact, we’ve been cooking so many dishes from other Mediterranean countries, we’re debating starting a tab/section on this site to share them. We feel this would be a great way to give our readers a holistic view of Mediterranean cuisine.
With researching all these countries’s foods, it evokes us to travel. We’re lucky enough to have been to: Ireland, England, France, Italy, Greece, Egypt, The Netherlands, and Belgium (I think that’s it).
We now have our sights on: Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Of course we want to go back to countries we’ve been to and countries outside Europe, so that just adds to the mix. It’s just so fascinating to meet new people and learn about different cultures first hand.
I have all this on my mind because we’re starting to talk about our honeymoon, where we want to go, what we want to do. Not to mention the above image married two of our favorite things together.
Okay, enough rambling, let’s get to the task at hand. A new Greek appetizer recipe: Spicy Feta – Tirokafteri (τυροκαυτερή)
I was reading through a Greek cookbook (Foods From Many Greek Kitchens) when I came across a recipe for spicy feta. I told Jane about it – “Yes, please.” was her response.
You see, our house is a feta house. We love it. We cannot get enough of it. But now we’re going to blend it into a paste with some garlic and peppers to give it a little heat? 100% yes.
What is so great about this recipe is the fact that it’s easy and 100% customizable (yeah, I know I used a percentage expression so close together, but I’m going to let it ride).
You simply start with a base, blend, taste and adjust. Want more heat? Add more peppers. Want even more? Start throwing in some habaneros then! Just Kidding, don’t do that. They’re crazy hot, like 1,000 times hotter than jalapeños on the scoville scale.
But you get what I’m saying. Just add more peppers (or peppers you like) to adjust the taste to fit your preference.
What starts as chunks of cheese, peppers that have been cooked a bite, and garlic transforms into a paste that you can spread on just about anything. As you can see from the photos, we used pita, but I could eat this with a spoon – yeah, it was that good in my opinion.
When you take a bite of the spread, you get the creamy saltiness from the feta, a bit from the garlic and olive oil, and then a kick from the pepper. In that order. The heat tingles your tastebuds and remains long after you’re done chewing. Obviously, all this will depend on how much of the peppers you add, but if you like spicy foods, you’re in for a treat.
We used an Anaheim pepper (New Mexico chile) which is a mild chili to start with. They are long and green, hence the greenish tint the feta has. We didn’t add any seeds (remember that’s where the heat is) and worked our way up until we were happy with the kick.
We hope you enjoy this spread/dip as much as we did!
Kali Orexi,
Kenton & Jane
- 8 oz feta
- 1 garlic clove
- 1-2 chili peppers (to start and your choice, green, Anaheim, jalapeño, etc.,)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil + extra
- The first thing we need to do is heat the peppers so they blister up and get a little black. You can do this by placing them in the oven under the broiler, on the BBQ, on a gas stove burner, or using a hand torch. Use whatever method is easiest for you.
- Allow them to cool.
- Cut the chili peppers in half and remove the seeds*
- In a food processor, add in the garlic, chili peppers, and olive oil, blend to a paste.
- Add in feta and blend everything to a paste, you may need to add some extra olive oil to help it achieve the right consistency.
- Taste and add more peppers/adjust as needed.
- Once you're satisfied, scoop out onto plate and serve!
Recipe adapted from: Foods From Many Greek Kitchens
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