Tirokafteri
The name joins two words: tiri, cheese, and kafteri, burning. That second half often gets dropped abroad, and without it the dish loses its point. The other thing easily spoiled is texture: here the feta is not blended smooth but mashed with a fork, so the dip keeps perceptible lumps of cheese instead of turning into a spreadable cheese product.
Your own work in that: 0 min.
- Roasting the peppers 35 min
- Mashing 15 min
- Chilling 30 min
Step by step
0 / 6 doneRoast the peppers until blackened
Roast the peppers and the chilli at 230°C for 30 minutes, turning, until the skins are blackened and blistered in places. The charring is not a mistake — it gives the smoky note that separates tirokafteri from a plain feta spread.
Ingredients: 300 g feta · 2 pcs red peppers · 1 pcs hot chilli · 100 g Greek yogurt · 4 tbsp olive oil · ½ pcs lemon · 1 clove garlic · 1 tsp oregano
Black, blistered skin — only then is it smoky.Steam covered, then peel
Transfer the hot peppers to a bowl and cover tightly for 10 minutes. The steam lifts the skin and it peels off in whole sheets. Remove the seeds but keep the juices in the bowl — they are concentrated pepper flavour.
Ingredients: 300 g feta · 2 pcs red peppers · 1 pcs hot chilli · 100 g Greek yogurt · 4 tbsp olive oil · ½ pcs lemon · 1 clove garlic · 1 tsp oregano
After steaming the skin comes off in sheets.Mash the feta with a fork
Mash the feta with a fork against the side of the bowl, into an uneven, lumpy mass. A blender would turn it into a smooth, gluey cream — the lumps are expected here and they give the dip its character.
Ingredients: 300 g feta · 2 pcs red peppers · 1 pcs hot chilli · 100 g Greek yogurt · 4 tbsp olive oil · ½ pcs lemon · 1 clove garlic · 1 tsp oregano
A fork, with lumps — no blender.Chop the peppers fine, not to a purée
Chop the roasted peppers finely with a knife and fold them into the cheese with their juices. The pepper should register as a separate ingredient — blended, it would just tint everything pink and vanish.
Ingredients: 300 g feta · 2 pcs red peppers · 1 pcs hot chilli · 100 g Greek yogurt · 4 tbsp olive oil · ½ pcs lemon · 1 clove garlic · 1 tsp oregano
Add yogurt, oil and seasoning
Stir in the yogurt, oil, lemon juice, crushed garlic and oregano. Taste before adding salt — feta can be very salty and in most cases none is needed. If it is too mild, add a pinch of chilli flakes.
Ingredients: 300 g feta · 2 pcs red peppers · 1 pcs hot chilli · 100 g Greek yogurt · 4 tbsp olive oil · ½ pcs lemon · 1 clove garlic · 1 tsp oregano
Chill half an hour before serving
Chill 30 minutes — the dip thickens and the heat distributes evenly. Serve with a groove pressed in with the back of a spoon, filled with olive oil and scattered with chilli flakes, alongside warm pita.
Ingredients: 2 tbsp olive oil · ½ tsp chilli flakes · 4 pcs pita bread
Before you start
Real feta, not a feta-style cheese
Real PDO feta from sheep's (or sheep and goat) milk has an acidity and salinity that cow's milk imitations lack. It is the ingredient here least worth economising on.
Heat to taste
One chilli gives a mild version. In Greece tirokafteri can be genuinely fiery — two or three chillies, or a teaspoon of hot pepper paste. The name commits you, so do not be shy.
Up to four days in the fridge
The dip keeps 3–4 days in the fridge and is better on the second, as the garlic and chilli spread through it. Store it under a layer of olive oil — it protects the surface from drying and discolouring.
