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Mad About Food: Go Greek this holiday
Use this Greek Pita Spread as the centerpiece for a charcuterie board at your next party
This year has blown by so quickly that it hardly feels like the winter holiday season is upon us. Here it is November already and harvest time has given way to December festivities. With potlucks, family events and celebrations with friends it’s time for some old goodies as well as some new creations of culinary art.
For this special time of the year I decided to focus on something simple yet unique to our winter holidays — something that is also refreshing and delicious. This Greek Pita Spread has a nice burst of flavors and it looks festive, too. It has a contrast of colors as well as textures, which will make it look good in any holiday spread. Of course, this spread can be made any time of year.
This Greek Pita Spread gets its sharpness from the feta cheese, the smooth creaminess from the cream cheese and the cool crunch from the cucumbers. These with all the other ingredients make this spread hard to resist.
Busy with holiday errands? This dip is easy to make, and you can have it warm or cold. You can spread the dip on pieces of pita, pita chips or you can eat it with raw vegetables. Either way, this dip screams flavor.
Lamb kabobs might be a great edition to this Greek Pita Spread. The flavor combinations will remind you of a gyro sandwich minus the meat.
Most recipes call for a Greek vinaigrette to be mixed in, but I opted to use Newman’s Caesar salad dressing instead and it’s amazing.
This dip would make a nice centerpiece on a charcuterie board. Picture a beautiful charcuterie board decorated with grape leaves, assorted olives, fresh fruit and vegetables and maybe some accents of chocolate along with fresh nuts and an assortment of breads or crackers with this in the center. So don’t be afraid to spruce up your holiday pregame with this Greek Pita Spread.
The festive colors of this spread — white, red, green and black — pairs well with December holidays. And the Greek flavor is a nice alternative to all of the holiday sweets. It’s perfect for something a little different but yet familiar.
Now that we’ve worked up an appetite and possibly some curiosity, let’s roll up our sleeves, wash our hands and get started creating our own version of Greek Pita Spread.
Recipe
Greek Pita Spread
Ingredients
2 8 ounce packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup sour cream
2 2-ounce cans of sliced black olives
2 Roma tomatoes, seeds removed and diced
1 green bell pepper diced and seeded
1 cucumber seeded, peeled and diced
1 red bell pepper seeded and diced
Optional
1/4 cup red onion, chopped (I opted out of it this time)
1/2 cup Caesar dressing I used Newman’s brand. You also could use a Greek vinaigrette
1 cup feta cheese
Directions
In a medium bowl combine the cream cheese, Caesar dressing and sour cream until well combined.
Spread mixture into your serving container and top with all the chopped vegetables and feta cheese.
Serve with pita/pita chips or on a charcuterie board with fresh cut vegetables. This is also great with lamb/gyro sandwiches.
Source: Adapted by Michelle Madden
This Greek Pita Spread works well with any holiday get together. (Nick Rohlman/The Gazette)
Greek Salad Dip photographed on Monday, November 14, 2022. (Nick Rohlman/The Gazette)
