4 Your Dipping Pleasure
The recipes below link to how-to videos on our YouTube cooking series, Flippin’ Greek! ™, to show you how we do it in our kouzina. Join us!
Feta and yogurt turn this into a lusciously creamy dip that will be used in our Greek-Island 8 Layer Dip, episode 136, airing later this week (recipe below). This dip can also be served with rusks or pita bread, or enjoyed as a spread on sandwiches.
KOUZINA TIP: Placing the hot roasted bell peppers in a paper bag and sealing for a few minutes allows the skins to loosen, making it easier to peel them.
PREP TIME: 10 minutes, plus standing and chilling
COOKING TIME: 5 minutes
SERVINGS: 4 (about 2 cups)
2 large red bell peppers (or roasted from a jar, drained and patted dry)
1/2 cup crumbled Greek feta
1/2 cup thick (2% or 5%) Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons chopped lightly toasted pignoli nuts
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/8 teaspoon dried oregano
Pinch freshly ground pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
1. If using fresh peppers, char the peppers directly over a gas flame, on a grill, or in a broiler, turning frequently, until blackened on all sides, about 5 minutes. Place peppers in a paper bag, seal, and let stand 10 minutes. Peel, seed, and quarter peppers.
2. In a food processor, puree together all of the ingredients until creamy. Transfer to a bowl, cover, and refrigerate at least 3 hours or overnight before serving. (Can be made ahead. Cover and refrigerate up to 4 days.)
Cannellini (or Northern) beans are pureed with feta and Greek yogurt to turn an average white-bean dip into a creamy appetizer that adds a hearty layer to our 8 Layer Greek-Island Dip, episode 136, airing later this week (recipe below).
KOUZINA TIP: This dip can also be served with rusks or pita bread, or enjoyed as a spread on sandwiches.
PREP TIME: 15 minutes, plus standing and chilling
ROASTING TIME: 20 minutes
SERVINGS: 6 to 8 (about 3 cups)
2 garlic cloves, skin on
1 (15-oz) can cannellini or Northern beans, rinsed and drained well
1 cup crumbled Greek feta
1/4 cup thick (2% or 5%) Greek yogurt
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon lemon zest (from 1/2 lemon)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from 1 lemon)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Sea salt, to taste
Pinch freshly ground black pepper
1. Heat oven to 400°F. Tightly wrap garlic cloves in foil and roast 20 minutes, until softened. Let cool.
2. In a food processor or blender, add all of the ingredients and puree until very smooth, scraping down the sides of bowl as needed. Taste and, if desired, season with additional salt. Transfer to a bowl, cover, and refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving. (Can be made ahead. Cover and refrigerate up to 3 days.)
This dip—resembling a pesto in texture and richness—imparts garden-fresh flavor and a gorgeous vibrant layer to our Greek-Island 8 Layer Dip, episode 136 (recipe below).
KOUZINA TIP: This dip can also be served with rusks or pita bread, tossed into pasta, or added as a flavoring to pizza, salads, or sandwiches. When serving fish, use this dip as a topping after cooking to deliciously finish the dish.
PREP TIME: 10 minutes
COOKING TIME: 2 minutes
SERVINGS: 6 to 8 (about 2 cups)
1 1/2 cups fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
1 small red onion, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons capers, drained
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup (3 slices) crumbled day-old bread (or boiled potato)
1/4 cup blanched almonds, lightly toasted, chopped
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (from 1/2 lemon)
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Pinch sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1. In a food processor, add the parsley, onion, capers, and garlic; process until smooth. Add the bread, almonds, lemon juice, and vinegar; pulse until combined well.
2. With the processor running, add the olive oil in a steady stream and puree until smooth, using the amount of oil needed for desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper; process until combined. Transfer to a bowl, cover, and refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving to allow the flavors to develop. Serve at room temperature. (Can be made ahead. Cover and refrigerate up to 3 days. Bring to room temperature before serving.)
White Bean Dip, Roasted Red Pepper Dip, and Parsley-Garlic Dip from the previous three episodes (133, 134, and 135) are layered with tomato, artichoke, cucumber, feta, kalamata olives, and oregano to create an incredible meze, vividly gorgeous and refreshingly delicious!
TOTAL PREP TIME: 15 minutes (not including time for each dip)
SERVINGS: 8 to 10
White Bean Dip (episode 134)
Roasted Red Pepper Dip (episode 133)
Parsley-Garlic Dip (episode 135)
1/2 cup cherry/grape tomatoes (use both red and yellow to add color), halved
1/3 cup diced artichoke hearts
1/3 cup diced seedless cucumber
1/2 cup crumbled Greek feta, divided
1/3 cup chopped pitted kalamata olives
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for pita
1/4 teaspoon oregano
*
6 pocketless pita breads
1. Prepare dips according to recipe directions; set aside.
2. In a large clear glass bowl, layer dip as follows:
White Bean Dip, tomatoes, artichoke hearts, Roasted Red Pepper Dip, cucumber, 1/4 cup feta, Parsley-Garlic Dip, olives, and remaining 1/4 cup feta. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with oregano. Cover (not applying pressure to contents) and refrigerate until ready to serve or up to 3 days.
3. Lightly brush pita with olive oil and warm on a grill, in oven, or toaster, then cut into wedges. Serve immediately with dip.
Recipes copyright © Kukla's Kouzina
I hope you enjoyed our many options for dipping Greek. For more dips and snacking ideas, join us for our two-part, two-way Savory & Sweet Flips 1 and Savory & Sweet Flips 2—we’ll be seasoning, dipping, and glazing!
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Until then~
Kali orexi! Good appetite!
Kelly
ABOUT Kukla’s Kouzina Flippin’ Greek! ™
Flippin’ Greek! ™ is our YouTube cooking series featuring familiar non-Greek recipes we flipped to Greek-island style using ingredients and cooking techniques found in Karpathos. Each episode runs 2 to 15 minutes, the perfect length for viewers to quickly learn how to recreate foods and beverages/cocktails right alongside us.
The ingredients used in Greek-island cuisine is what sets this style of cooking apart from standard Greek fare, giving meals a fresh take that keeps them interesting. Karpathos, the home of Kukla’s Kouzina, has its own unique style, and we’ll show you how to take common dishes and reinvent them into Karpathian versions with our simple substitutions.
Many think that everyday Greek cooking is made up of dishes like spanakopita (spinach pie), moussaka, and pastitsio. These are classics for sure, but too time-consuming to make on a regular basis. During our time in Karpathos, we learned that the locals’ quick meals made from the island’s staples like fresh vegetables, fruit, herbs, spices, and protein, prepared using certain methods, came out tasting Greek-island delicious. So we thought this would be a great way to bring our hometown flavor into YOUR kouzina, adding some spicy variety to your life while keeping it simple and fast. Recipes for each week will be posted right here on our blog with links to the episodes.
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