Baked feta with capsicum two ways
Happy world feta day! On the 14th of June the traditional Greek cheese, feta, is celebrated and it’s an opportunity for us food bloggers to create dishes with it to share. My contribution this year is my baked feta with capsicum two ways. Both options are served as appetizers and can be part of a grazing spread or meze.
How World Feta Day started
In 2020, Diana Moutsopoulos, the editorial director at “All recipes” decided to start a day recognized worldwide to spread the word about this versatile, salty and tangy cheese. Foodies share their dishes for the Instagram community to see, using the hashtag #fetaday #fetaday2022 (the latter varies depending on the year). Hence, people can then scroll and browse to see what’s on display for them to make. In previous years I have shared my easy tiropitakia (cheese patries) with puff pastry (Reel here), my souffra style spanakopita (spinach and cheese pita), kolokithokeftedes (zucchini fritters with feta), bacon and mushroom pasta traybake with feta and many more…
Baked feta – Tik Tok trend or a traditional dish
Baked feta was a trend among the Greek community way before it was trending on Tik Tok. You probably all remember the feta shortage caused by it at supermarkets during the Covid-19 lockdown! It was about a dish made by baking feta with tomatoes first then mixing in garlic, basil and cooked through it. Some more background information can be found here if you want to read on MacKenzie Smith’s “Grilled Cheese Social” food blog whose Tik Tok video went viral.
Traditionally there is a Greek dish called “Bouyiourdi” where we bake feta with slices of tomatoes, oregano, onion slices, extra virgin olive oil and chili if wanted. The contents are wrapped like a parcel in baking paper and aluminium foil to be baked on high heat. Furthermore, this baked feta dish is a must, when the charcoals are burning to cook it on them and enjoy it as a meze. The feta softens so beautifully and sweetens from the tomatoes.
Baked feta with capsicum – two ways
Baked feta with capsicum I’m sharing with you today can be presented in two ways. The method is very simple. For the first way, bake the feta with roasted capsicum slices, extra virgin olive oil and thyme. Then serve with some toasted bread pieces and some cucumbers to help cut through the saltiness.
The second method is a continuation of part one, to make a version of the traditional Greek dip, “Tirokafteri”. A chunky, salty and spicy dip which name translates to spicy cheese. To make it you simply blitz together the baked feta, capsicum (with all the oil remaining in the baking dish), red wine vinegar, yoghurt and chili. That’s it! Quick, easy and your guests will love it.
Below is a reel I made demonstrating this recipe. However… I forgot to press record for part two!! So, you can only see part one from start to finish and the end result of part two.
For more starter creations, traditional and non, check out this link!
Would love to hear your feedback below or on any of my social media pages – Facebook or Instagram .
- 200 g Greek feta see notes 1
- 100 g roasted capsicum, cut in thick slices see notes 2
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp Greek thyme, dried
- Slices of your favourite bread, halved (Pane Di Casa/sourdough loaf/pita etc)
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Greek thyme, dried
- 3 tbs Greek yoghurt, thickened
- 1 tsp red wine vinegar
- 1 red chili, or chili flakes to your liking
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Preheat the oven to 220˚C fan forced. Use a paper towel to pat dry the feta. In a small baking dish add the feta block and the roasted capsicum slices around it. Drizzle it all with the extra virgin oil and Greek thyme. Bake for 20min on the top oven rack until the feta starts browning slightly and it softens.
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On a separate baking tray, lined with baking paper, add the halved slices of bread, drizzle with extra and the Greek thyme. Bake in the oven on the middle rack, at the same time as the feta, for about 5-7min until the bread browns. Use the bread crackers to enjoy the baked feta with capsicum once it finishes.
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To continue on and make a dip with the baked feta simply add the cooled baked feta, the roasted capsicum slices and the remaining oils from the baking dish with the yoghurt, red wine vinegar and chili in a food processor. Blitz briefly until a chunky texture is achieved and the ingredients are blended together. If you prefer a smoother texture add slightly a bit more yoghurt and blitz for longer. Allow the dip to chill for 1 or 2 hours for the flavours to develop. It will thicken further once chilled also. Serve the dip with the bread crackers or any fresh vegetables.
1. Feta varies from brand to brand but please buy the Greek feta, not Bulgarian or Danish as their texture and flavour is different.
2. Cutting the capsicum in thick slices recues the chances that it will burn. The roasted capsicum I used was soaking in vinegar not an oil marinade. If the one you use has an oil marinade don’t hesitate to pour in some of those delicious juices with the extra herbs and spices.
