Baked Feta Greek Dipping Oil & Xinomavro

A new start, a show stopping dip, and an unforgettable wine pairing.

Sep 09, 2024

Hi! Welcome to my WINE & DIP Newsletter! Things are looking a bit different around here, and that’s because I’m going to be sharing all of my recipes through my Substack going forward. Over the next little while I’ll be transferring my recipes over from my website and building my Substack recipe index! What is Substack? GREAT QUESTION. I just learned this myself, so I googled it and found Wikipedia and this video super helpful.

If you want to skip all of the preamble (AKA a bit of a dive into what I’m doing now and why I’m doing it), feel free to scroll down to the picture of the dip for the recipe!

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Here’s why I made the switch.

I’ve been meaning to update my website and how I share my recipes for a while now. I made my website through Squarespace back in 2021 when my content and business were very different. Since my full transition to recipes and wine pairing content last fall, I knew that my current site just wasn’t cutting it. While I’ve wanted to make a change, I kept delaying it for two main reasons. First, I have very little to no skill when it comes to website development. For real - I signed up for Wordpress and very quickly realized it was not for me. Even if I got someone to create a website for me, I don’t have the skill to maintain it, and with baby Josie’s recent arrival I sadly don’t have the time to learn!

You might be thinking “Just hire someone to do it for you, Steph!”. That brings up reason number two, and I want to be totally transparent with you here. My main priority with my Instagram over the past few years has been providing high value, FREE content (because I absolutely love you all and want to share my passion with you). BUT that also means I don’t have a lot of money coming in to hire anyone to help on an ongoing basis.

SO that brings me to Substack. I really saw the value in this when I recently listened to an episode of my one of my favourite podcasts, Food Blogger Pro by the GOAT Pinch of Yum, where they interviewed the Substack GOAT Caroline Chambers (Author of What to Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking). I related to her story in so many ways. My ‘area of genius’ and what fills my cup is coming up with recipes and wine pairings, creating videos, and interacting with all of you! What drains me (or my ‘area of incompetence’ is all the administrative and back of house stuff that comes along with trying to maintain a blog. I truly know nothing about coding, SEO, Adsense… the list goes on. So transitioning to Substack seemed like the perfect fit for me! I don’t have to worry about coding, searchability, or how to optimize ads, and I don’t have to remember to send a separate newsletter on top of getting out my regular recipes/blog posts. I have ADHD, and keeping track of all the steps was absolutely draining for me! Now I can do it all in one, which is SO MUCH EASIER for me, and hopefully you’ll be happy seeing more consistent recipes in your inbox! This also gives me another platform to share what’s going on in my life and share some of my favourite things and experiences!

So, what does this mean for you?

I still want to provide you with free content, but I will be transitioning to a combination of a free and a paid subscription model.

You might be wondering what this means for you and how you’ve been experiencing and accessing my recipes and wine pairings. I still want to provide you with free content, I will be transitioning to a combination of a free and a paid subscription model. This will help support my work so that I can keep putting out regular content that you love! Keep reading for more details, but if you have any questions please feel free to send me a message!

By signing up for free,

you will still get access to 1 dip recipe every month and at least 2 other recipes (if you’re new here, think easy cheesy appetizers, cheesy saucy sandwiches, decadent pastas, unique cocktails, etc.)

By signing up for my paid subscription, you get:

My weekly Wine & Dip newsletter sent directly to your inbox, which includes a new dip recipe and wine pairing (4-5 per months), digestible wine tips and education, links to my favourite things, and life updates!
Access to my full recipe archives and to the Wine & Dip community, which includes a community chat that gives you the ability to start threads and connect with me and other wine & dip lovers!
First access/discounted rates on upcoming products that you don’t want to miss!

With all that said and done, let’s talk about the recipe and wine pairing!

“What grows together, goes together!”

I have been wanting to create a Greek-inspired dip for some time now. Not only because I love the flavours and could crush Greek food ALL DAY (#iykyk), but I’ve also been wanting to feature this wine style and knew it would be a great match! The wine is a red Xinomavro - a lesser known Greek grape variety that I’m pretty much in love with. The style of wine can vary producer to producer, but when made into red wine they all tend to share gorgeous tart acidity, making them fresh and super food friendly, and a medium-to-full body from their higher tannins and alcohol. Xinomavro also has a lovely balance of bright fruit flavours (think tart raspberry) and savoury spice and herbal notes like black olives, tomato, anise, and allspice.

This pairing was a no brainer for me. The matching flavours with the olives and tomato, the contrasting acidity from the wine with the salty feta, the matching weight and complexity from the oil base and rich flavours, and of course my favourite pairing guideline of them all: What grows together, goes together! In other words, Greek + Greek just works.

My Wine Recommendation

I HIGHLY suggest the Kir-Yianni Naoussa Cuvee Village Xinomavro. This is a producer that has consistently awesome, high-quality wine, and this one is no exception!

Baked Feta Greek Dipping Oil

Tools

Ingredients

200g Feta block (+ 1-2 tbsp olive oil)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
3-4 garlic cloves, pressed or finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped
2 tbsp fresh oregano, chopped
1/4 cup Kalamata olives, finely chopped
1/4 cup green olives, finely chopped
1/4 cup roasted red peppers packed in oil, finely chopped
2-3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp lemon zest
1/4 cup roasted and salted pistachios, chopped
Optional: honey

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 F. Place feta in a small ceramic baking dish with a lid. Drizzle with olive oil, cover, and bake at 400 F for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare ingredients by finely chopping olives, roasted red peppers, garlic, mint, and oregano. Pour high quality extra virgin olive oil into your serving dish (I recommend a flat bottomed bowl like these). Add chopped garlic, mint, oregano, kalamata olives, green olives, oil-packed roasted red peppers, and lemon juice to the bowl and mix well to combine.
Carefully remove feta from the baking dish and place it in the middle of the oil mixture. Mash it with a fork and mix to combine with the other ingredients.
Top with more olive oil, lemon zest, chopped roasted/salted pistachios, and a drizzle of honey (optional - taste it without first!) and enjoy immediately with fresh sourdough!