Τυροκαυτερή (Tyrokafteri), from the words tyros = cheese + kafteri = hot, in some places also called ktypiti or kopanisti is a dip or a spread with cheese and chili peppers. Kopanisti, takes its name from the cheese produced in the Cyclades and the Aegean, which is a type of soft cheese with a peppery, spicy flavor.
It is more usual to find it under the name tyrokafteri in most Greek tavernas and is ideal during winter to go with wine, ouzo or raki.
I have mentioned in a previous post, when I wrote about Kokoras Krassatos, that our friends from Crete sent us a lot of xynomyzithra. They live in a village and have their own sheep as well as other other livestock and they make the cheese themselves. They sent me too much, four large blocks, each one must be more than one kilo.
I have stored them in the deep freezer and last year when they sent me some again, they lasted nearly a year.
Last week I thawed a big piece and made puff pastry tyropita but I still had some left, so I decided to make some tyrokafteri.
My husband went to buy the groceries but unfortunately he did not find hot chili peppers, so instead he brought two red and two green peppers. However, I had this crave for tyrokafteri so I decided to make some even if I didn’t have the hot chili peppers. During my trip to France I bought Harissa so I decided to give it the hot touch with harissa. The dip was delicious.
TYROKAFTERI (MY VERSION)
Preparation and roasting time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
- 150 grams of feta
- 150 grams of xynomyzithra
- 1- 2 tablespoons of Greek Yoghurt or olive oil
- ½ teaspoon of Harissa
- 1 green and 1 red peppers, roasted
- (1 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice*)
(Note*: I preferred not to add vinegar or lemon juice, as xynomyzithra has a slight sour taste and instead of Greek yoghurt you may add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Finally, xynomyzithra may be substituted by anthotyro or make the spread only with feta. If you use green hot bull’s horn peppers substitute the red and green pepper with 2 roasted hot peppers. In this case harissa would not be necessary).
Directions:
To begin with you must first roast the peppers. See how to roast them here.
I had both red and green peppers and originally I intended to use both but I decided to use the red ones in another recipe.
I added the red and green peppers, feta, xynomyzithra, yoghurt and harissa in a food processor and pureed them for a few minutes until they became a nice spread.
The spread was perfect, hot but so addictive we could not stop eating it. The leftover was even better the following day as a spread on some crackers.
I am submitting this recipe to Rachel, at The Crispy Cook, who is hosting this weeks’ Grow Your Own, created by Andrea, of Andrea’s Recipes.
Tags: Dip, Greek cheese, Mezedes
November 29th, 2008 at 9:59 pm
This sounds absolutely delicious. Cheese, in any form, makes my knees weak! Thanks for sharing this and submitting to Grow Your Own. Now I have to get thinking and cooking for your guest hosting of Weekend Herb Blogging….
November 29th, 2008 at 10:13 pm
Ti bad I didn’t live close and we couldshare the cheese wealth sis…wink…wink…This dip sounds amazing to me and the addition of the harissa would make it flavourful too:D
November 29th, 2008 at 11:53 pm
A delightful speciality! I’m a cheese addict, so your recipe makes me drool… Yummy!
Cheers and have a great Sunday,
Rosa
November 30th, 2008 at 1:02 am
When I carave something, I have to make it too! Great version Ivy!
November 30th, 2008 at 2:36 pm
Wow, that really does sound like an incredibly flavorful dip–and home-made cheese? I’m so jealous! I’d probably be finding excuses to serve this on everything until I ran out.
November 30th, 2008 at 5:01 pm
Oh my, that looks like my kind of spread. Wish I could find some of that kind of cheese around here, but it might be hard!
November 30th, 2008 at 5:15 pm
I like savoury food and this sounds nice. It looks like the perfect spicy spread. While I don’t get goat cheese, I could probably use soft cheese we call paneer.
November 30th, 2008 at 5:42 pm
In Thessaloniki, we call it Xtipiti and regardless of the regional names, this is one of favourite dips…nice use of Harissa.
November 30th, 2008 at 6:35 pm
That’s just my kind of spread Ivy…yum yum yum! I’m coming over to join you…I LOVE your regional food & history! xoxoxo Deeba
November 30th, 2008 at 7:03 pm
i, too, have a soft spot for tirokafteri! I envy your xinomizithra:)
December 1st, 2008 at 12:32 am
This looks very tasty Ivy.
December 1st, 2008 at 6:37 pm
Oh, cheesy, cheesy goodness is what this is! I just love learning new dishes to add to the holiday table, and this greek one is certainly one of them!
Pretty soon, thank to you, I’ll be the Asian making great Greek food!
December 1st, 2008 at 10:03 pm
I love learning about all of these cheeses from you, Ivy.
December 2nd, 2008 at 10:58 pm
Ivy, This dip looks amazing. I love the blend of cheeses. The touch of lemon juice sounds nice as well.
December 4th, 2008 at 1:09 am
Oh, Ivy, that cheese is making my mouth water… straight from the producer’s hand… I love it! Nice recipe!
December 4th, 2008 at 3:30 pm
There is a restaurant in Greektown that used to have this as part of a trio of dips appetizer. I loved it sooo much, but I guess I was the only one who could handle the heat b/c they took it off the menu and replaced it with a more mild dip. I was so sad and was never able to find a recipe that could re-create it… I’m excited to try this and see what happens!