Bouyourdi is a dish that belongs in the middle of the table. Thessaloniki’s beloved meze—an earthenware dish of punchy tomatoes, olive oil, sweet and hot peppers, and oregano crowned with a collapsing block of feta cheese—is vibrant and undeniably convivial, inviting diners to dive in.
“Feta with tomato, pepper, and olive oil—this is the perfect combination to eat with bread,” Aglaia Kremezi, Greek culinary authority and cookbook author, declared.
And it’s not just the eating of bouyourdi that is a collaborative effort. The recipe itself is quintessentially Thessalonian, which is to say it is the product of the cultural exchange that has unfolded in the Greek port city for thousands of years.
“In Thessaloniki, we have more cuisine that came through what was once Constantinople, the seat of the Byzantine Empire,” explained Irini Tzortzoglou, Greek chef, winner of MasterChef UK 2019, and author of Under the Olive Tree: (2020). “This Politiki Kouzina [cuisine of the city] tends to be richer and spicier.”
