the power of the dip

 You know, there's nothing else like a really good dip. It's the least fussy of appetizers. Just a bowl of something, alongside something to dip into it. Salsa or guacamole with tortilla chips. Hummus or baba ganoush with pita. Homemade dip says "I made this to share with you," the happy medium between "voila!! revere my mastery of the appetizer!!" and "OMG I totally forgot so on the way over I stopped for this can of Helluva Good French Onion and a bag of Utz."

And so, my new favorite dip: feta and roasted peppers.

I've made it three times in the past two weeks. I have heard tell that leftovers cause fistfights. If there's any trick to it at all, it's just an aesthetic one: you want a nice orange-y color, kind of brickish red, which requires mixing red peppers and yellow ones. But if you don't love how it looks, drizzle something on top. Few first impressions can't be improved by an artistic drizzle.

 

So. You roast some peppers:

 

(or you take some roasted peppers out of the freezer that you happen to have on hand for just this kind of thing; if you're going to break down 4 peppers you might as well do 8 and freeze 4; handy for appetizer emergencies, or last-minute enchiladas)

If you like, also take a few jarred piquillos:

 

(thank you, Trader Joe's, yet again; please don't suddenly discontinue these like you suddenly discontinue everything else I love)

Then you get yourself a big old block of feta:

 

(I'm beginning to think maybe I've got too many pictures in this post, but look! cheese! pretty!)

And then you heat things up:

And after adding some powders and a squeeze of lemon, whirr it up in the whirrer:

Oh, and I forgot the garlic and of COURSE the smoked paprika, which my husband would tell you I put in absolutely everything I make and he's really not more than 15% wrong on that. But anyway. You make the dip (preferably a day ahead to let the garlic mellow.) And serve it with toasted pita. And stand back from the stampede.

Roasted Pepper and Feta Dip

4-ish roasted yellow peppers (I leave the skin on, so you get lovely black smoky bits)
4 piquillo peppers
3/4 c or so feta (I used 1/2 of a 1-pound package but that weight included brine)
3 cloves garlic
1 T olive oil
1 t lemon juice
1/4 t Aleppo pepper
1/4 t smoked paprika
1/4 t sweet paprika
1/2 t sriracha

Serves a party full of people, or one person instead of dinner, or both, depending.