Brian and I have had the pleasure to meet and cook from the wonderful books of Joanne Weir. Cookbook author and leader of food tours, Joanne has a world-class palette and understanding of cuisine around the world. Her website, joanneweir.com, offers many recipes that reflect her taste, experience, and creativity.

At recent party, we sampled this dip and asked where it came from. When the hostess said, “Joanne Weir,” we could only nod with a smile.

This dip is spicy! And very delicious. And a bit deceptive. It’s a pretty brown color with no warning that your mouth is about to sizzle. It’s a great surprise. Joanne suggests you serve this with freshly made pita chips. It’s great for veggies, too. Or, you can top a salad of tomatoes and cucumbers with this feta delight and please everyone at the table.

Spicy Feta Dip

Yield: serves 6

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups Greek yogurt, drained in a paper-towel lined sieve for 4 hours
• Salt
• 10 ounces feta cheese
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon cayenne
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
• Imported black olives as garnish

Preparation:

Place the yogurt, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and the feta in a bowl and mash together with a fork to make a smooth paste. Add the garlic, cayenne, paprika, and 1 tablespoon olive oil and mix well.

Alternately, this can be pureed in the food processor or blender.

Spread the puree on a serving plate. Drizzle with the remaining 1 teaspoon olive oil and garnish with olives

Source: Joanne Weir