Last summer, my friend Katie and I were in Seattle for a conference and were trying to eat at as many Tom Douglas restaurants as we could. On one of his menus, we saw an item – Kopanisti – that piqued our curiosity. While we went on to order other things, I didn’t forget about the Kopanisti and did a little research on it as soon as I could. Evidently, Kopanisti is a Greek cheese that is salty and spicy and produced in Mykonos, Greece. While the cheese itself is hard to come by in the States, recipes abound for a dip called Kopanisti, which includes feta and roasted red peppers, whipped into a frenzy.

I thought the combination sounded great, so decided to work on my own version. Instead of roasted red bell peppers, I used a combination of piquillo peppers and peppadew peppers. Why the different peppers? Because I find typical jarred roasted red peppers frequently taste bitter and watery, and piquillo peppers have a lot more flavor. And have you had a peppadew pepper yet? Please do so as soon as possible. Oh, peppadew. How I love you. Peppadews are sweet and spicy and delicious and serve as the perfect counterpoint to the saltiness of the feta. These peppers, combined with feta and some cream cheese to bind it all together, make a truly addictive salty dip with a little sweet-hot kick. Serve the dip as is, with toasted pita chips or crostini, or try it the way I like it best – piped into adorable peppadew peppers for the perfect peppadew pepper popper. (Say that ten times fast!)

Kopanisti

Ingredients:
8 oz. feta, chunked
4 oz. neufchatel, chunked
4 piquillo peppers
6 peppadew peppers

Preparation:
1. Combine all ingredients in a food processor fitted with a metal blade.
2. Process until the dip is smooth.
3. Serve and enjoy!