PRETZA ME PSOMI

Pretza is a local feta cheese product made in Zakynthos and Cephalonia, something akin to cream cheese but pungent and peppery. You can find it in several cheese shops in Athens, but it is nowhere to be found in America. You can make an ersatz version by mixing crumbled feta with a little ricotta or fresh Greek myzithra cheese, olive oil, and thyme. This is a wonderful breakfast meal, and indeed that’s how it is eaten on the island, but it also serves well as an opener to any hearty Mediterranean meal.

Makes 6 to 10 pieces

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups crumbled Greek feta cheese
• 1/3 cup ricotta or myzithra cheese
• 3 to 4 heaping tablespoons thick Mediterraneanstyle
• yogurt or plain yogurt, drained, to taste
• 3 to 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus
• more to taste, for drizzling on the bread
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• Good bread, preferably sourdough with a thick
• crust, cut into six to ten 1?2-inch-thick slices
• 1 to 2 firm, ripe tomatoes, as needed, sliced
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method:

1. Combine the feta, ricotta or myzithra, yogurt, olive oil, and thyme in a small bowl or whip together in a food processor. You can make the spread several days ahead.

2. To serve, toast the bread on both sides under the broiler until golden. Drizzle a little olive oil on each slice. Spread a tablespoon or two of the cheese mixture on each slice, top with a slice of tomato, and sprinkle with pepper.