Kopanisti:
It’s a fun word to say for a flavorable dip. What? have you never had Kopanisti before? Oh, if you haven’t you are definitely missing out!
There is a Greek restaurant in town, Opa, that has “Gyro Day” every Monday. This means that on Mondays, you can get any gyro of your choice along with fresh cut fries for $5.95. It was when Andy and I were had their Chicken Kopanisti that we were introduced to this delicious cheese dip.
The two main ingredients in kopanisti are roasted red peppers and feta cheese. The peppers and cheese are blended together with a few other ingredients to make a beautiful, red cheese dip. Isn’t it gorgeous?
I absolutely LOVE the flavor of these gyros so I searched the internet for a recipe for kopanisti. After finding a few recipes, it was time for doing some kitchen science to create my own. After a few attempts I came up with what I think is a delicious version….and it’s absolutely beautiful. I love it with blue corn chips.
Now, when I put together a recipe, I like to use amounts that utilize standard amounts so that I don’t have excess ingredients lying around. This is especially true for things with a limited shelf life like cheese. So, my kopanisti recipe is based on the typical 6 oz tub of feta cheese available at your local grocery store.
- 6 oz feta cheese, crumbled
- 1 roasted red pepper. peeled with stem and seeds removed
- 1 roasted ripe serrano pepper, peeled with stem and seeds removed (optional)
- 2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 3 pepperoccini, stems/tops removed
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 tsp aleppo pepper flakes or crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp oregano
- Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend. You do not want your dip to be completely smooth but you do want all the ingredients chopped and thoroughly incorporated.
- Serve with tortilla chips, pita bread, or crackers.
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