TIROKAFTERI

Tirokafteri, or “Spicy Cheese”, is a traditional Greek dip found all over Greece. Everyone makes this a little differently, however we think our family’s version is pretty fantastic. If you love feta and you love chillies as much as we do, then this little number is going to become your next best friend.

Creamy, whipped feta blended with a sizeable amount of chillies and topped with freshly roasted capsicums and more chilli. When mixed together, the result is a fiery, salty, subtly sweet mound of perfection that you will take great pleasure in feasting on. It will likely cause you to break out in a sweat, however we guarantee that you will come back for more over and over again.

Our family have been making this forever and we happily enjoy it with chunks of bread, along side a steak or simply with spoon in hand!

Feta cheese would have to be one of our favourite ingredients. It goes so well in so many different dishes. This recipe is the first in a series of feta recipes that we created using the wonderful new range of Mayer Feta cheeses from Halkidiki, Greece. The ‘traditional’ Mayer Feta is perfect for this dip as it whips beautifully and has the perfect level of saltiness. For a complete list of stockists, you can contact www.fmayerimports.com.au directly.

INGREDIENTS

400g Mayers Traditional Feta

¼ cup olive oil

2 long red chillies, seeds removed, finely chopped

2 birds eye chillies, seeds removed, finely chopped

2 teaspoons dried oregano

2 large red capsicums

2 birds eye chillies, finely chopped

½ teaspoon salt

Cracked pepper

Olive oil

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 210 degrees Celsius.

Using a fork, mash the feta roughly. Place the feta in a food processor with the olive oil and blend for five minutes or until the feta is smooth, scraping down the sides after 2 minutes. Transfer the feta to a bowl. Add the long chilli, birds eye chilli (without seeds) and 1 teaspoon of oregano and mix until combined. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour.

Chop capsicums in half, remove seeds and place them on a baking tray. Drizzle lightly with olive oil. lace capsicum on baking tray. Drizzle lightly with olive oil. Bake for 25 minutes. Turn the capsicums over and bake for a further 20 minutes or until slightly blackened. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly. Remove the skins and chop them finely. Place in a bowl and add one teaspoon of oregano, two birds eye chillies (with seeds), salt and cracked pepper. Mix until combined.

To serve, spread the feta dip onto a large plate, spoon the capsicum mixture over the feta and drizzle lightly with olive oil. Enjoy with fresh crusty bread!