Recipe

May 6, 2025

Tirokafteri (Spicy Feta Dip)

Recipe: Irene Matys

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“Serve as a delicious sandwich spread,” author of My Cypriot Table, Irene Matys says of her creamy feta dip. Get the recipe for Irene’s traditional tirokafteri (spicy feta dip) below.

Ingredients

  • 1 small Hungarian green pepper or other hot pepper
  • 1 large garlic clove, skin-on
  • 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for tossing and garnish
  • 1¼ cups crumbled sheep’s milk feta
  • ⅓ cup Greek yogurt
  • Kalamata olives, for garnish

Directions

Yield: Serves 4 to 6

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F and line small baking sheet with parchment.
  2. Toss pepper and garlic in olive oil, place on prepared baking sheet, and roast for 20 minutes, until pepper is charred and garlic has softened. Remove skin from garlic and stem from pepper. Reserve stem for garnish. Remove pepper seeds for a milder spice if desired.
  3. Transfer pepper and garlic to food processor or blender, add 1 tbsp olive oil, feta and yogurt, puréeing until smooth.
  4. To serve, garnish with pepper stem, Kalamata olives and olive oil. Can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
Source:

Excerpted from My Cypriot Table by Irene Matys. Copyright © 2025 Irene Matys. Photographs by Irene Matys. Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved

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