recipe
Bouyiourdi (Spicy Baked Feta)
By: Eleni Saltas
BOUYIOURDI puts the E in easy and will stand out in any dinner spread. This popular Greek meze comes from Thessaloniki, a cosmopolitan seaside city in Northern Greece, and gives me yet another reason to visit one of my favorite Greek cities. Thessaloniki lies where Europe meets Asia, and where, as a result, many taste influences converge, dating back to the time of Alexander the Great. Alexander’s half-sister, Thessalonike, gave the city its name. It is not known if they ate bouyiourdi.
The best thing about bouyiourdi (boo-your-THEE) is that it hardly even needs a recipe. You take a slab of feta, slices of tomatoes and onions, herbs, and pepper and stack them in a clay pot. Then you douse it all with extra-virgin olive oil, and pop the pot into the oven. When the feta softens and becomes gooey like a good hot fudge, carry the dish directly from oven to your dinner table.
Prep Time:
5min
Total Time:
35-40min
Servings:
2-3
Good For:
Meze/Appetizer
Ingredients
- 1 tomato, sliced
- ½ red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 small jalapeno or a handful of pepperoncini peppers, sliced into thin rings
- 1 thick slice of feta (not crumbled)
- 1 tablespoon oregano
- ½ teaspoon chili flakes
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Using a clay pot or shallow baking dish, arrange the tomatoes on the bottom of the dish, reserving two slices for the top. Stack the onions and peppers on top of the tomatoes, again reserving some slices for the top. Sprinkle with half of the oregano.
Step 2
Place the feta on top of the vegetables. Top feta with the remaining slices of tomatoes, onions, and peppers in a nice arrangement. Drizzle liberally with olive oil and finish with the remaining oregano and chili flakes.
Step 3
Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes, or until the feta is lightly golden and gooey. Serve as is in the pot with warm bread for dunking.
Spicy fate reminds me so much of summer and the seaside.. 🙂
yes definitely! this dish actually comes from Thessaloniki, a seaside city. So it always brings me back there when I make it!