Feta and Roasted Red Pepper Piquante

Feta and Roasted Red Pepper Piquante

When outdoors in the late summer and early autumn, in neighbourhoods where there are Greeks, chances are you'll catch the scent of roasting peppers wafting on the breeze. With our family this practice is almost a ritual. My father visits the farms north of Toronto to find the best peppers available. We then set aside the better part of a Saturday afternoon and we hold a pepper roast! The wonderful scent of grilling peppers is one of my earliest and fondest reminiscences of family cooking as a child.

So, I just love going into the freezer and pulling out the roasted red peppers we froze from last summer. I roasted an entire bushel of red peppers on the barbecue and then we packed them in small batches and put them in the icebox for use throughout the winter months. This recipe is one of my favourite things to do with those roasted red peppers; it is easy and quick to make, and is an excellent appetizer dip for entertaining guests.

Recipe

1/4 kilo of Greek feta cheese
2 roasted red peppers (peeled and seeded)
2 small dried chili peppers
60 ml. (4 tablespoons) extra virgin olive oil
fresh ground black pepper

1. Crumble feta cheese into food processor/blender.
2. Remove seeds from and finely chop the dried chili peppers then add to processor/blender. (This dip ought to be spicy but not red hot, so make sure to remove the seeds)
3. Ensuring that the seeds and skins have been removed, add the roasted red peppers to processor/blender.
4. Add olive oil and a pinch or two of fresh ground black pepper to processor/blender.
5. Start processor/blender and puree ingredients until consistency is uniformly smooth.

Refrigerate until needed and serve with warm pita bread.