This was my favorite mezze from Oleana in Cambridge, MA the first time I visited, and to say the least I’ve been back a few times.  Reason being?  This is perhaps the perfect accompaniment for some delicious and soft foccacia or other warm bread.  There are lots of feta dip recipes out there, but this one is truly unique.  The reason for that is the abundance of 3 types of chili peppers which blend together to give this appetizer a rich, spicy and smoke flavor.

Two of these chilis are somewhat exotic, but if you’re attempting to make this dish, don’t substitute!  Trust me, I tried this and it didn’t come out nearly as good.  The 2 keys to this dish are Aleppo and Urfa chilis, both of Turkish origin and both delicious.  The Aleppo is sort of like the ancho chili – it’s got a certain sweetness to is also, with some smoky undertones.  The Urfa is a bit spicier – akin to red chili flakes but with a totally different consistency.  I also use Paquillo peppers in this dish instead of the roasted red peppers that the recipe calls for. Use what ever you like, but these Paquillos have been a common staple in the fridge at casa Mott lately.

This is also a good party appetizer and has such unique flavors to it that you’re likely to have some takers.  Enjoy and please try out Oleana or Sofra if you’re in the Boston area!!  Here’s the recipe:

• Around 2 cups of Sheep’s milk feta cheese (or other feta, but the sheep’s milk variety is preferred) – crumbled
• 5 Paquillo peppers (find them at most grocery stores). You can also use roasted red peppers here.
• Medium handful of Aleppo chilis (around 2 tsp.) – Buy them here
• 1.5 tsp. Urfa chilis – Buy them here

• 1 tsp. smoked paprika (or more if you like your dip smokier)
• Lemon juice to taste – start with 1-2 Tbsp. though
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• Some good bread of your choice – good sourdough or focaccia is recommended!

The preparation here is extremely easy, but will definitely help with the addition of a food processor.  If you don’t have one, you should try to get one, it’s one of the most indispensable kitchen items in our house and gets used almost everyday.  And yes, I still use the Cuisinart from my Mom that she purchased in like 1985 and it still works great.

Add the crumbled feta and the peppers (Aleppo, Urfa and Paprika) to a large mixing bowl and gently mix them together.  Add the mixture to the food processor along with the lemon juice.  Whip the mixture together and then slowly drizzle in the olive oil while the mixture is spinning.

Once it’s well combined, transfer the feta to a bowl and let it chill in the fridge to harden and rest together for a while before serving.  Enjoy!

I set out to make some sort of simple pasta with a hint of some Spanish Manchego cheese.  Most of the time a little cheese typically goes on top of a finished pasta that we concoct from time to time – but I want to make this a little bit different.  So I decided to start with a roux and add the cheese after the roux had turned into a bechamel.  Of course, I didn’t want to make Mac and Cheese (this would have been easy with this method), so I decided to also add some spicy red chili flake and chopped canned tomatoes to the sauce before adding some of it to my sauteed vegetables.

This was totally experimental, the sort of food that I love to cook – no recipe, no ideas from other blogs, just some organic vegetables and some pasta with a sauce (that I was actually not expecting to turn out well at all).  But the result was surprisingly delicious.  Part of the credit has to go to the organic ingredients from Boston organics.

Overall, a pretty simple interpretation, good for weeknight dinner, but good enough to serve to guests as well.  I’d advise against trying to enhance it with meat or anything though – keep it simple and vegetarian, you’ll like it I promise.  Here’s what to do:

For the vegetables:

• 8-10 button or crimini mushrooms – cut in thick slices
• Steps and leaves from a bunch of Swiss Chard – chopped
• 1 medium onion – large dice
• 1 large head of broccoli – florets chopped
• 1 tsp. red chili flakes (more if you want it really spicy)
• 4-5 cloves fresh garlic – diced
• 1 lb. dried spaghetti or linguine – whatever you prefer
• Olive oil
• Salt and fresh ground black pepper

For the sauce:

• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup of milk (or more depending on how think you want your sauce)
• ~4 oz. Manchego cheese – grated finely
• 1 tsp. red chili flakes
• 1 Tbsp. dried basil leaves
• 1 can diced canned tomatoes
• Salt and pepper

Place a large pot of water to boil over high heat for the pasta.  Start by cooking the vegetables – add a pan over medium heat to the stove and add some olive oil to the pan.  Add in the onions a broccoli first, season with a little salt and toss to combine.  Cook down and add the mushrooms with a pinch more salt.  Add the garlic and chard next and cook down over lower heat to caramelize the veg for 10-15 minutes.

While the vegetables are cooking, start with the sauce, but make sure you’re in good shape with the veg, as the sauce will require constant attention to get right.  Start with a whisk and a small-ish saucepan over low heat and melt the butter.  Add the flour to the butter and whisk to combine.  From here you want to cook the roux over low heat until it becomes a little darker color – stirring constantly to make sure it doesn’t burn.

Add the milk next and stir quickly – now you’ve got yourself a basic bechamel sauce.  Season with the salt and pepper to taste and add in the grated cheese and stir vigorously to incorporate.  Add the chili flakes and basil and eventually the tomatoes and mix to combine.  Bring to a decent heat and then add most of the sauce to the vegetables and stir to combine.  Cook the pasta (salting the water first of course) then add some of the pasta water to the sauce (around 1/3 cup of it – you want to thin it out some here.  Drain and add the pasta to the sauce and mix to combine.  Serve immediately and enjoy!

A few years back, me and a couple buddies took some time off and went on a ski trip in the Swiss and French Alps.  The trip took us to the Jungfrau, where we stayed in Wengen – a totally traditional and classic ski village.  While there, we had to try the traditional Fondue after a good day of skiing and man, did it hit the spot.  The marriage of the Gruyere and Comte (a different sort of Gruyere) makes for an awesome flavor that is only enhanced with the addition of some (rather smelly) creamy Swiss cheese.

So if you’re familiar with fondue recipes, the first thing you’ll likely notice is that there’s no thickening agents (typically cornstarch is used).  This version of the dish comes from our friends the Vials who hail from Evian, France and have been making a French-influenced Cheese fondue for years.  This is essentially Charlotte Vial’s recipe.  Thanks Charlotte!  It’s very simple in terms of the few ingredients,but comes out really awesome, trust us.

Cheese fondue is all about the quality of the cheese you can get your hands on.  If you have access to a cheese shop that can supply you with the sorts of cheese mentioned, it will make you an excellent fondue.  Ask your local cheese merchant about what they recommend and they’ll likely provide you some insight.  Sure, these cheeses may be a bit on the expensive side, but fondue is a social event, so I recommend having a big group to share with, as this recipe here will serve at least 8-10.

As far as things to dip into the cheese, the traditional items are cauliflower, green apples, salami or ham, and of course the classic french baguettes (I think sourdough works really well too…).  So now, when your relative gives you that fondue pot that you think you’ll never use, you can actually use it to cook an awesome (and memorable) meal for your friends.  Here’s how to make it happen:

Serves 8-10

• 2 cups each (6 cups total) of cheese.  I recommend using (if available) Reserve Gruyere, Comte Gruyere and Emmental (or Napfkase Swiss if you can find it, it’s delicious!)
• 1 bottle of good, dry white wine
• 5 medium cloves of fresh garlic
• Ideas on things to dip: Green apples, cauliflower, ham or salami, cubed french bread are traditional.  Other ideas are: peppers, turkey or chicken cubes, broccoli or really anything you would like to sample with cheese.

Cooking fondue is actually not very difficult.  Start by grating all of the cheese on the large holes of a box grater, removing the rinds of course.  Mix all of the cheeses together and set them aside.  Now’s the time you want to set up your fondue pot with the heater below to keep things warm and melted.

Pour around a glass of wine out of the bottle and then pour the rest of the bottle into a heavy bottomed pot and heat it over low heat.  Slice the garlic lengthwise, then add it to the wine and let the wine heat up very slowly.  When the wine looks like it’s about to start simmering (bubbles will form around the garlic and on the bottom), kill the heat and add a little bit of the cheese mixture.  You want to make sure you stir the cheese and that it’s melting very smoothly.  If it’s not melting, torn the heat back on.  Slowly add the rest of the cheese in handfuls, stirring well to combine.  The cheese should melt smoothly and become a rich, creamy consistency.  If you feel like the fondue it too thick, add a little more wine.

Transfer to the fondue pot(s), prepare your dippers and serve them alongside the same sort of white wine as you used in the fondue.  Enjoy!