Greek Appetizers – Easy Entertaining!

Check out this great lineup of Greek Appetizers – Spiced Red Pepper Hummus, Tzatsiki Dip , Pita Chips, Feta Cheese Wafers and Watermelon & Feta meze.

Greek Appetizers

These Greek Appetizer recipes are a follow-on to my recent post –  Join the Greek Feast.

Everyone loves chips and dip and our Greek friends are no exception. This variety of small bites allows you to mix & match to create your own flavor combinations.

I’ve purchased hummus many times, but never made it. I discovered that Spiced Red Pepper Hummus is very easy to make. The Tzatziki dip also comes together quickly. Both can also be made in advance which is a bonus for entertaining.

You can purchase Pita Chips but making these are worth the minimal effort. They taste great and you end up with a nice batch of whole, unbroken chips, excellent for dipping. The Feta Cheese Wafers are like a delicate, savory version of a shortbread. You can use them for dipping, but they’re also good as a small nibble all on their own.

Watermelon and Feta Meze couldn’t be simpler to make. These skewered pieces of watermelon and feta add color and an intriguing sweet/salty flavor combination. The juicy watermelon is also a great summery touch. My tray of Greek Appetizers was finished off with a selection of olives from my favorite olive bar at Lunds & Byerlys.

If you’re interested in other Greek appetizer ideas, check out this great food blog called Lemon & Olives where I found a number of these recipes.

Greek Appetizers

Greek appetizers includes a selection of Spiced Red Pepper Humus, cool and creamy Tzatziki dip, Peta Chips, Feta Cheese Wafers and Watermelon/Feta Meze.

4 from 1 vote

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Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: Greek

Keyword: Feta, hummus, tzatziki dip, watermelon

Servings: 8

Author: Hummus & Pita Chips recipes found on allrecipes & Tzatziki Dip, Feta Cheese Wafers and Watermelon and Feta Meze adapted from Lemon and Olives food blog recipes

Ingredients

Spiced Red Pepper Hummus

• 1 15 ounce can garbanzo beans, drained
• 1 4-6 ounce jar roasted red peppers
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/2 tablespoons tahini sesame paste
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley or oregano

Tzatziki Dip

• 17 ounces plain Greek yogurt I recommend Fage
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cucumber peeled and grated (I used English cucumber)
• 1/2 lemon juiced
• 1-2 teaspoons salt use 1 teaspoon, taste and add more if desired
• fresh ground black pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
• 1-2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
• 1 small clove garlic minced

Pita Chips

• 12 pita pocket halves or 6 whole pita bread rounds
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• dried basil
• dried oregano
• kosher salt or garlic salt

Feta Cheese Wafers

• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 stick butter at room temperature, cut into pieces
• 1/3 cup crumbled feta
• 1 egg
• salt & pepper to taste
• shot glass
• parchment paper

Watermelon and Feta Meze (appetizer)

• 1 small to medium sized watermelon chilled
• 1 block feta cheese
• toothpicks

Instructions

Spiced Red Pepper Hummus

• In blender or food processor, puree chickpeas, red pepper, lemon juice, tahini, garlic, cumin, cayenne and salt. Process thoroughly until mixture is fairly smooth and slightly fluffy. Be sure to scrape the mixture from the sides between pulses. Transfer to a serving bowl and refrigerate, covered, at least one hour and up to 3 days in advance. Return to room temperature before serving. Sprinkle the hummus with chopped parsley or oregano before serving.

Tzatziki Dip

• Place Greek yogurt in bowl. Grate cucumber on plate, then squeeze out all the juice from the cucumber. Add the cucumber to the yogurt along with the remaining ingredients. Blend thoroughly and refrigerate for a minimum of 4-6 hours, or preferable overnight. Stir and serve.

Pita Chips

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. If you are starting with whole round pita breads, split them in into two halves (like you would to make to sandwiches.) Then cut along the edge of the pita half to separate the 2 sides so you end up with a single layer. Cut each of these halves into 3 wedges. A full round pita bread will yield 12 wedges. If you are starting with pita halves, you’ll have 6 wedges each.
• In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, black pepper, basil and oregano. Brush the wedge with the oil mixture. Sprinkle each chip with bit of kosher salt or garlic salt. Bake in preheated oven for about 7 minutes or until lightly browned. Watch them carefully because they burn easily. I usually stand by with a tongs to remove the thinner wedges which brown more quickly than the thicker ones.

Feta Cheese Wafers

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Add flour, butter, feta and salt & pepper to taste, into food processor. Blend until crumbled. Empty mixture into bowl and press into a ball.
• Sprinkle flour onto a rolling surface and dust rolling pin. Roll dough out to a thin sheet and use the shot glass to cut small rounds. Place on parchment lined sheets and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown. Gather up remaining scrapes and re-roll, cut and bake remaining wafers.

Watermelon and Feta Meze (Appetizers)

• Remove rind from watermelon and cut into pieces about 1.5 inches by 1.5 inches. Cut feta into small slabs about 1 inch by 1 inch. Hint – do a test run before cutting all of the watermelon and feta by and threading a few samples onto toothpick. You want both the watermelon and feta to be thin enough to fit on toothpick but thick enough to not slide off when you pick it up.
• After you’ve cut the watermelon and feta pieces, it works best to create a little stack with two pieces of watermelon with a feta piece in the middle and push the toothpick through the stack. That way the feta will be less likely to break. Repeat until you’ve made the desired quantity and serve. These are best made and served immediately.