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Chillies & Cheese Snack


I recently made a post of a poached pears recipe and a good discussion on Greek words ensued in the comments section.

It was revealed that the Greeks have a word for everything. I once witnessed a lecture conducted in English but he exclusively used Greek-routed words. Awesome!

If the Greeks have a word for everything, then why is there no word in Greek for Snack (Σνακ)?

I came across this recipe from the November issue of Gastrononos, found in Greece’s broadsheet, Kathemerini.

They titled the recipe as ” Σνακ με κεφαλογραβιερα και MÏ€oukobo” or a Snack With Kefalograviera With Boukovo.

Today was my first time making this snack and to my surprise, the family loved it! I’m in awe because my toughest critics are my family. We have full-blown arguments about how to cook things, proper seasoning, correct ingredients, method of cooking, sources of food, blah, blah, blah.

We take our food seriously and that’s a double-edged sword. I’ve witnessed arguments about feta, tzatziki, oregano, olive oil, honey, salt, vinegar, ouzo, retsina and wine and the list goes on!

Before today, I’ve never had this Greek snack. It’s a pan-cooked snack that contains flour, cheese and Boukovo.

Boukovo is a Greek red chili flake. What makes it unique is that Boukovo is oven dried or better yet, the red chili gets dried over smoky, burning embers. Think smoky red chili flakes.

I’m presenting Boukovo to you and to Weekend Herb Blogging, this week being hosted by Rinku of Cooking in Westchester.

The other Greek ingredient in this snack is Kefalograviera. It’s an aged white sheep’s milk hard cheese with a light brown rind. It’s salt content can be described as being somewhere in the middle between Romano and Parmesan.

For this snack, you’ll need a non stick pan and a lid. They make a great snack, an appetizer or a nibble with some wine.


Chillies & Cheese Snack (Σνακ με κεφαλογραβιερα και Mπoukobo)

1 cup all purpose white flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 heaping Tbsp. of baking powder

2 eggs
6 Tbsp. of plain Greek yogurt

6 Tbsp. of olive oil
1/2 cup grated Kefalograviera

1 Tbsp. of Boukovo (red chili flakes)

salt & pepper to taste

  1. Add all your ingredients into one big bowl and mix until thoroughly incorporated. The dough should be wet but firm (add some more yogurt and oil if too dry, more flour if too wet).
  2. Turn on your stovetop to a medium-low, place the non-stick pan on the burner with the cover on and allow the pan the warm up for about 5-7 minutes.
  3. Without pouring any oil into the pan, use a teaspoon to scoop and place pieces of dough in the pan. Cover with the lid and cook for 6-7 minutes and flip and cook another 6-7 minutes.
  4. Repeat step#3 for the second batch. This recipe makes about 30 pieces. Serve warm or room temperature.
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24 Responses

  1. sounds yummy. i put cheese and chili (albeit separately) on practically everything – what better way to enjoy two of my favourite culinary accents without sullying them by adding any other non-essential ingredient! lol

  2. No word for “snack”? I can’t imagine such a thing in the US! These are perfect finger food. Easy to make and easy to eat!

  3. These look great! I never really thought about the fact there is no word for snack in Greek. Hmm, I am learning more from your blog than I did in 6 years of Greek school.

  4. They look a great snack. Smoked chilli’s sound amazing.

    I love the sound of the cheese you used I bet it was delicious. :-)

  5. Peter, here’s another Greek word to learn. Snack is κολατσιό (kolatsio). Those who write the recipes don’t bother to try and find the right word and they think it’s more attractive to say snack instead of kolatsio. However, I would say that these are what we call mezedes when it’s something you can have a glass of wine, ouzo, raki or whatever other drink you like. A snack is intended rather to assuage a person’s hunger between meals, providing a brief supply of energy for the body, or as a food item consumed between meals purely for the enjoyment of its taste.

    Your meze is a kind of coated saganaki but the addition of boukouvo would really require some booze to go with it. My mouth is watering all the time I have been writing to you. Eis ygeian.

  6. That is quite a snack, Peter M. They look nice and crispy.

    I almost bought some Greek yogurt, today, but I stopped myself. I’ve never had it…
    I’ve been thinking about what I want to do with it.

  7. Oh, wow. YUM! I wonder if I could sub smokey paprika and chili flakes? I doubt I’d find boukovo here, unfortunately. I know I could find similar cheese, too…cured sheep’s milk cheese is common here…almost as much as goat and cow. :) Looks fab as always, Peter!

  8. Sounds great, you know how I love red pepper! I have two kinds of boukovo I bought last year in Greece – sweet and hot. Both are wonderful, although the hot is very very hot – I’d be afraid to use a whole tablespoon!

  9. The J, thanks for visiting again…

    Elly, it helps when ones goes to Greece yearly.

    Christine, my batch is running out, gotta get some more from Greece.

    Ivy, thanks again for expanding our Greek lexicon.

    Emiline (lovely name), thanks for dropping by, Sugarplum! ;)

    Nikki, something like a Manchego would work here.

    Nuria, it’s a sin to not like cheese and I was hoping you’d sing a cheese song for me!

  10. Wow those chillies must have been hot. N a combo of chillies n cheese sounds like a piece of heaven to me. I am sure they tasted great too.

  11. Hi Peter, what a great recipe. You’ve inspired me to “smoke” (not literally) the red hot chilli’s I have growing in the garden. Should they be dried first, then smoked? Or vice versa?

  12. Pam, I would dry them first by hanging them. I stitch them into a necklace and hang them in the kitchen. Then,finish them off in an oven with low heat, say 350F for about 40 minutes and then leave in the oven to continue to roast with the oven’s residual heat.

    PS. I recommend eloping! lol

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