Roasted Red-Pepper and Feta Dip

Prepared by Charlie Newman

This recipe combines the sweetness of the peppers with the tanginess of the feta cheese, and you can add heat with a sprinkled of red-pepper flakes if you wish

Ingredients

• 2 roasted red bell peppers
• 3 tablespoons of olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ¼ teaspoon red-pepper flakes (optional)
• 8 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

Procedure:

Puree the roasted red peppers in a food processor.
Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat and lightly brown the minced garlic. As the garlic is just browning, add the red-pepper flakes and toss just a few times to combine the flavors. Remove the pan from the heat.
Add the oil-and-garlic mixture and the crumbled feta to the pureed peppers in the food processor and process until well-blended.
Transfer the Roast Red-Pepper and Feta dip to a serving bowl and refrigerate before serving. Serve with whole-grain pita bread or crudites.

Roasting Peppers:
Preheat your boiler and prick the whole peppers five or six times in various places with a fork. Place them on a broiler pan as close to the heat as possible. When the top sides have blackened, turn the peppers. Continue broiling and turning them until they have blackened all around. Remove the roasted peppers from the broiler, place them in a paper bag, roll down the top of the bag, and let them cool inside the bag. When they are cool enough to handle, remove the peppers from the bag and peel off the blackened outer skin, which will pull off easily.
Cut off the stems, remove the seeds, and slice; they are ready to use in any recipe, or eat by themselves.

SIDE NOTE The original recipe was taken from the Greek Revival: Cooking for Life cookbook. It has been modified to incorporate Certified SC Grown peppers and Split Creek Farms Feta Cheese.