Turkish Roasted Red Pepper and Sheep Cheese Spread Recipe
A creamy spread that in Turkey is served as meze – for dipping bread, raw vegetables, or as a sandwich spread. Roasted peppers add sweetness and a lightly smoky flavor, while sheep’s cheese brings salty depth. Perfect for parties instead of store‑bought dips.
This spread combines the sweetness and smokiness of roasted peppers with the salty richness of sheep’s cheese, creating a meze that feels both comforting and elegant. It’s quick to make ahead, looks impressive on a sharing platter, and is much more flavorful and natural than most ready‑made dips.
Chef's tips
Roast a few extra peppers if you can – they keep well in the fridge with a little olive oil and are great for adding to salads or sandwiches. For a more intense smoky note, you can briefly char the peppers directly over a gas flame before baking. Always add salt at the very end, after tasting, because different cheeses vary a lot in saltiness.
How to serve
Serve in a shallow bowl, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with chopped walnuts or parsley. Offer alongside warm flatbreads, pita, crusty bread, or vegetable sticks like cucumber, carrot, and celery. It also works wonderfully as a spread in wraps with grilled chicken or roasted vegetables.
Ingredients
- red bell pepper fleshy - 3 piece
- sheep’s cheese can be feta-style - 150 g
- Greek yogurt thick - 100 g
- walnuts lightly chopped - 40 g
- garlic small - 1 clove
- olive oil - 2 tablespoons
- lemon juice - 1 tablespoon
- sweet paprika - 1 teaspoon
- hot paprika or to taste - 0.25 teaspoons
- salt to taste, carefully, as the cheese is salty
- black pepper to taste
Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 220°C with the grill or top heat function. Place the whole peppers on a baking tray lined with baking paper.
- Bake for 20–25 minutes, turning the peppers every few minutes, until the skin is well charred and blackened in spots and the peppers have softened.
- Transfer the hot peppers to a bowl, cover with foil or a lid and set aside for 10 minutes so the skins loosen.
- Peel off the skins, remove the cores and stems. Cut the pepper flesh into smaller pieces.
- Put the peppers, crumbled sheep’s cheese, yogurt, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, sweet paprika and hot paprika into a blender jug.
- Blend into a smooth or slightly chunky spread, depending on the texture you prefer. Taste and season carefully with salt and black pepper.
- Add the chopped walnuts and mix with a spoon so the pieces remain noticeable.
- Transfer the spread to a small bowl, smooth the top, drizzle with a little olive oil and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to let the flavors meld.
Storage
Pastę przechowuj w szczelnym pojemniku w lodówce. Przed podaniem wyjmij ją na 10–15 minut, żeby lekko zmiękła i łatwiej się rozsmarowywała.
