Without cheese, there’s no meyhane. Not only will you be offered a slice of beyaz peynir, the Turkish name for what you may know as feta cheese, as soon as you sit down. No doubt, someone in your company will request girit ezmesi, a Cretan cheese meze, too. If I’m at your table, I’ll definitely be that person.
Girit ezmesi is an Aegean meze that most likely hails from Crete. It’s name (literally “Cretan mash”) certainly suggests so. It’s a relatively simple variation of the slice of white cheese – but with more layers that make it extremely more-ish. And the perfect match for the toasted bread that is customary at meyhanes.
The cheese
The key to a good girit ezmesi is the cheese. It’s heavy on the beyaz peynir, so your choice of beyaz peynir or feta cheese is important. In Turkey, we get them in all sorts of variants – from the crumbly to the spreadable, from the salty to the mild, and made with milks from cows, sheep or goat – or even a mixture.
The best versions incorporates other Turkish cheeses too, however. Izmir tulum is matured and adds a salty pungency and umami. Lor peyniri (fresh cheese curds similar to a dry cottage cheese) add a mellow note and makes sure the saltiness isn’t overwhelming.
Now, I realise this may not be replicable where you are, although Turkish supermarkets are abundant and often very good in many cities. If you can get hold of a Turkish beyaz peynir, make sure it’s a flavourful one and not the creamy ones sometimes sold in tubes. Your favourite feta cheese may be a better choice still. Izmir tulum is the hardest to replace, but a salty, hard cheese like parmesan could be a good choice. As for the lor peyniri, substitute cottage cheese or ricotta. You may need to tweak the relative amounts to suit your own liking.
Choose your favourite herb for the pesto
With your cheese sorted, all you need to do is make a simple pistachio pesto, mix and you’re ready to go. I prefer flat-leaf parsley in my pesto, for colour and to allow the cheese to sing, though basil has become increasingly popular at meyhanes in recent years. Another, slightly more curious – but not unheard of – choice is dill. Take your fancy and run with it.
A clove of garlic is entirely optional. If your cheese is good, you probably won’t need it – but if you love your garlic here’s your nudge to add a clove.
Girit ezmesi (Feta and pistachio dip)
Ingredients
- 150 g feta cheese, or Turkish beyaz peynir (see text), finely crumbled
- 100 g fresh cheese, such as Turkish lor peyniri, cottage cheese or labneh
- 30 g matured cheese, such as Turkish izmir tulum or cheddar, finely crumbled or shredded
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, I use a mild one
- 20 g pistachios (unsalted), finely chopped (shelled weight)
- 2 sprigs thyme, leaves only
To garnish
- 1 ½ Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, or to taste
- 1 ½ Tbsp finely crushed pistachios (unsalted), or to taste
- 1 sprig thyme, leaves only, or to taste
How I make it
- Mix together the white cheese, fresh cheese, matured cheese and extra virgin olive oil. If the mixture doesn't stick together, add a little more olive oil. The mixture should be firm and thick, but still spreadable on toast.
- Add the pistachios and thyme. Mix until well combined.
- Plate and make little indents all over the mixture. Top with extra virgin olive oil, finely crushed pistachios and thyme leaves to taste.
