Red Pepper Feta Dip Recipe for Greek Htipiti – Beragampengetahuan

Our spicy roasted red pepper feta dip recipe makes htipiti, a Greek meze made with roasted red capsicums and Greek feta cheese that’s enjoyed as one of an array of Greek mezedes, snacks traditionally washed down with ouzo. Scoop it up with warm pita bread and serve with other meze dips such as tzaziki and taramosalata, or saganaki (fried cheese) or keftedes (fritters or meatballs).

This classic roasted red pepper feta dip recipe makes the Greek meze called htipiti and it’s incredibly delicious eaten with warm flat bread or crispy pita chips. It’s also a breeze to prepare with just a handful of ingredients: roasted red bell peppers (capsicums), Greek feta, lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, salt, and chilli peppers, whether fresh or dried, ground or flakes. Not traditional, but I drizzle a little chilli oil on top.

If you adore small plate eating cultures as much as we do and you’re a fan of grazing on Mediterranean mezze – the small dishes of nibbles, dips and bites traditionally enjoyed as snacks, starters and sides – from Middle Eastern mezze such as hummus and baba ghanoush to Greek mezedes such as taramosalata and tzaziki, then you’re going to love htipiti.

We used to spend a lot of time in Greece years ago. On our first trip over 25 years ago we split a month between island hopping with backpacks and road tripping on the mainland. Years later, as guidebook authors we updated two editions of Lonely Planet Greece and guides to Crete and Cyprus, covering countless islands and criss-crossing the country by car.

One of our favourite things to do, no matter what time of year it was or where we were – whether it was at a cosy old town ouzerie with fireplace on a stormy Crete in winter or at a sunny seaside taverna within splashing distance of the sea in summer on the Peloponnese – was to savour a leisurely lunch of mezedes, ordering an assortment of meze such as htipiti to scoop up with warm pita.

Now let me tell you more about this spicy roasted red pepper feta dip recipe for htipiti.

Red Pepper Feta Dip Recipe for the Greek Meze Htipiti

If you haven’t tried it before, you’ll love this roasted red pepper feta dip recipe for htipiti. It’s all at once sweet and smoky, courtesy of the roasted red capsicums, creamy and salty from the Greek feta, and gently spiced due to the chilli peppers – but you can always bump up the spice levels if you like, or do as I recommend and drizzle with chilli oil at the end.

This red pepper feta dip is brilliant eaten alone as a snack with warm pita bread or crisp pita chips, enjoyed alongside one of an array of Greek mezedes (the plural of ‘meze’ in Greek) or as a side to Greek salad and souvlaki, or you can mix things up and serve it with Middle Eastern mezze, such as hummus and muhammara, the heavenly Syrian roasted red pepper dip made with walnuts.

Htipiti – also written as xthipiti or chtipiti – is often confused with another red pepper feta dip call tyrokafteri, which means ‘hot cheese’. They are very similar meze, however, with tyrokafteri, the feta cheese is the star ingredient – which explains why you’ll see the dip vary from a creamy colour to pink rather than red.

There’s also another hot feta and red pepper dish called bouyiourdi, which is a whole slab of feta baked with red peppers, tomatoes and herbs. It’s a wonderful, warming, cold-weather meze and is fantastic with an array of hot mezedes on a winter’s night.

Tips to Making this Roasted Red Pepper Feta Dip Recipe for the Greek Meze Htipiti

I only have a few tips to making this roasted red pepper feta dip recipe for the Greek meze, htipiti, as it’s super easy to make. You simply roast the red bell peppers, or red capsicums as we call them in Australia, in the oven. Then when they’re cool enough to touch, you peel the skin off and toss them in a food processor or blender with the other ingredients and pulse until combined.

Or you can pound the red peppers in a mortar and pestle, which is the traditional way, and is how I’ve been making this, as I’m at my mum’s in Australia, and she doesn’t have a food processor or blender. It doesn’t take long and it’s my preferred method for making htipiti as I love a more rustic texture. More on that below.

Do use a good quality salt, fresh lemon juice if you have access to lemons, and Mediterranean-style extra virgin olive oil, preferably Greek if you can source it.

This spicy roasted red pepper feta dip is versatile. For instance, some recipes skip the lemon juice, others use more extra virgin olive oil, which, if you blend for longer, will give you a lighter, smoother, and fluffier texture.

When it comes to the spice levels, make the dip as spicy or as mild as you like. You can use chilli peppers in any form you like, whether fresh chillies (hot or mild) or dried chillies, whether ground chilli powder or chilli flakes. I like things spicy so I also drizzle on a little chilli oil at the end, which is not traditional, but fantastic.

You should always taste the dip and adjust it to your palate and that includes adjusting the chilli level to suit your taste. And of course if you’re not a fan of chilli, you can skip and use some ground smoky paprika instead – which is essentially pounded dried red capsicum or bell peppers.

Home-Roasted or Store-Bought Red Bell Peppers?

You’ll find instructions below for roasting the red capsicums (bell peppers) in the oven until blistered and charred – you can also char them directly over the flame on the stove top, or on a griddle, grill or barbecue – and how to seed and peel them by rubbing the blackened skin off with a paper kitchen towel. It’s a little messy but easy.

However, to save time you could also use store-bought jarred roasted red peppers. Here in Australia, where there’s a cost-of-living crisis, it’s actually cheaper to buy a big $3 jar of Italian roasted red capsicums than two large fresh red capsicums, which cost around $5 right now.

I’ve tested a few brands of jarred roasted red capsicums in recent months. They even have some charred bits in the jar. While I found a couple tasted deliciously sweet and smoky, they were a little slimy and stringy. They would have been better sliced intro strips and used in a pasta, on pizza or focaccia or with braised chicken.

My main problem with the jarred roasted red capsicums was that they were quite tangy due to the vinegar, so I had to skip the lemon juice and bump up the feta cheese so the dip was more balanced in flavour. My preference is still home-roasted red peppers.

Food Processor or Blender or Mortar and Pestle?

Our roasted red pepper feta dip recipe calls for a food processor or good blender, and it’s a cinch to make this meze in one. You simply toss all the ingredients in and pulse until the ingredients are well combined but you still have a textured dip.

Having said that, keep in mind that ‘htipiti’ means ‘beaten’ or ‘whipped’ in Greek and a light fluffy texture is desirable, so you could continue to blend to get that, however, I actually prefer a more rustic texture. Do as you like.

You could certainly make this dip using a mortar and pestle, which is how it’s traditionally made, as are many Mediterranean dips and spreads, and Southeast Asian herb and spice pastes and curry pastes. It’s easy to make, doesn’t take long, and will give your arms a great workout.

If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, I highly recommend getting one. We have a handful of mortar and pestles at home in Cambodia. It’s our favourite Asian kitchen utensil. We especially love our handcrafted KROK mortar and pestle made by artisans in three days in Thailand. My mum has an Italian marble mortar and pestle, which is what I’ve been using to make basil pesto.

Storing this Red Pepper Feta Dip

Transfer any leftover roasted red pepper feta dip to a jar with lid and drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil on top and it will easily keep for a few days in the refrigerator.

Roasted Red Pepper Feta Dip Recipe

Spicy Roasted Red Pepper Feta Dip Recipe for the Greek Meze Htipiti

AuthorLara Dunston

This spicy roasted red pepper feta dip recipe makes htipiti, a Greek meze made with roasted red capsicums and Greek feta cheese that’s enjoyed as one of an array of Greek mezedes or snacks traditionally washed down with ouzo. Scoop it up with warm pita bread and serve with other meze dips such as taramosalata, or grilled skewers such as souvlaki.

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Course meze, mezedes, dip, snacks, starter

Cuisine Greek

Servings made with recipeServings 1 Bowl

Calories 1111 kcal

• 2 large red capsicums – bell peppers
• 250 g Greek feta cheese – crumbled
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp chilli powder or to taste
• 1 tsp chilli oil or chilli flakes – optional

• Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F). Slice the red capsicums (bell peppers) in halves, scoop out the seeds, chop off the stalks, and slice each half into thirds. Lay the capsicum slices onto an oven tray covered with baking paper, roast for 20 minutes or so until blistered, charred and soft.

• Remove the capsicum pieces from the oven, allow them to cool then wipe them with paper kitchen towels to remove all the charred blackened skin.

• Add the roasted capsicum pieces to a food processor or good blender, along with the crumbled feta cheese, lemon juice, 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, salt, and chilli powder, and blend until well combined.

• Transfer to a bowl, use a spoon to create deep swirls, drizzle in a little chilli oil and/or sprinkle on some chilli flakes if you like things spicy. Serve with warm pita bread and other mezedes.

For a smoother paste, add another tablespoon or two of extra virgin olive oil and blend for longer.
For a lighter texture use half feta cheese and half ricotta cheese or half Greek yoghurt and blend for longer.
For a spicier dip, add more chilli powder or even finely chopped chilli peppers.

Calories: 1111kcalCarbohydrates: 26gProtein: 38gFat: 98gSaturated Fat: 39gPolyunsaturated Fat: 7gMonounsaturated Fat: 43gCholesterol: 223mgSodium: 4090mgPotassium: 722mgFiber: 6gSugar: 10gVitamin A: 9409IUVitamin C: 307mgCalcium: 1261mgIron: 3mg

Please do let us know in the comments below if you make this roasted red pepper feta dip recipe as we’d love to know how it turns out for you.