Whipped feta

This came about as a good way to use up part of a block of feta left over from something else. I love feta but it doesn’t keep long after you’ve opened it, and there never seems to be exactly the right amount in the block for what you’re making… This is really quick and simple and the rest of the ingredients we pretty much always have. 

1/2 block feta
1/2 cup skyr
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tbsp lemon juice
Pinch of salt
Little bit of garlic, crushed

Put all ingredients in a little blender and blend. Scrape into serving bowl and sprinkle additional salt, pepper and olive oil on top. 

Baked feta

We ate quite a bit of baked feta when on holiday in Crete a few years ago. For some reason we only just thought of making it. It's really easy and simple and delicious.

1 block feta, drained

1 small tomato (ideally yellow), sliced thinly

1/2 a red pepper, sliced thinly

a few olives, destoned and sliced

black pepper

dried oregano 

olive oil

Heat oven to 220C or get the fire going. Put block of feta on a piece of foil big enough to wrap it. Arrange slices of tomato and pepper on top; and olives. Sprinkle with black pepper and oregano. Drizzle with olive oil. Wrap up and bake at 220C for about 20 min. Also good (better?) cooked on fire embers. Eat with crusty good bread.

Shakshuka

I first ate shakshuka quite a while ago. Perhaps it was made by my friend N, it was one of his signature dishes (he's also vegetarian, and a good cook). But somehow never got around to making it for ages. We had some for lunch in a cafe recently, and I realized it is good, and also super simple if you make the sauce in advance. I used approximately this recipe, and made the sauce in advance, before cracking 4 eggs into it for a weeknight dinner.

 4 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely sliced
2 sweet peppers, diced
5 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tsp sweet paprika
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp cayenne
800 g (2 tins) tinned tomatoes
2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
4-8 eggs*
small bunch coriander, chopped
c. 2/3 a pack feta

Heat the oil in a large lidded pan. Add onion, cook until golden. Add peppers, fry until soft. Stir in garlic and spices and cook for a few more minutes. Add tinned tomatoes, stir in the sugar and lemon juice and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for c. 30 min. Taste and season.

When ready to eat, heat the sauce in a large lidded deep-sided frying pan. When warm, turn down to the lowest heat, make the right number of wells for the eggs, then crack the eggs one at a time into a cup before pouring into a well. Simmer gently for approx. 10 min (mine took a bit longer) - you may wish to put the lid on to encourage the eggs to cook more evenly. Sprinkle with coriander and feta and eat with crusty bread. 


*The eggs took a little longer to cook than I expected (maybe more like 20 min?), but other than that it was great - perhaps even a good idea to leave the sauce in the fridge for a bit, to let the flavours meld.

Asparagus, garlic, feta, lemon, thyme

Also belated from early Summer...

We did a pretty good job of asparagus season this year, if I do say so myself. We ate lots... and as much of it from our veg share as possible (think we ordered a special asparagus bag every week!). Everything seems to be growing well this year, and I guess asparagus was no exception. And it turned out small S loves it (although only the tips: he is a discerning little bug)... Much of it was prepped v simply - either with st george’s mushrooms or just boiled for 4 min and then dressed with melted butter and lemon juice... this is only slightly more complicated, but is now my other favourite way to eat it...

olive oil

c. 4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 large bunch asparagus, tough bits snapped off and rest snapped into nice-sized  pieces

salt+pepper

zest and juice of approx 1/4 lemon

c. 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves

1/2 pack of feta

Heat olive oil in a large frying pan with a lid and add the garlic. Sizzle for a few min, then add the asparagus pieces. Season with salt and pepper, cover and cook for a few minutes, then uncover and cook until excess moisture is gone and there is a little colour on the asparagus (it should be tender). Turn off the heat and let cool a bit, then squeeze over the lemon juice and add half the zest. Allow to cool a bit more, then serve warm, with the feta crumbled on top and thyme leaves and rest of the lemon zest scattered over it.

Melon, feta and toasted almond salad with honey-miso dressing

The last few months, I have made a lot of delicious salads, but rarely remembered to write them down here. This one I have made again and again. It's simple, but really refreshing.

1-2 little gem lettuces (or butter lettuce, or similar mild/crisp lettuce)
1/2 a small Galia melon (or canteloupe)
1/2 of a 200 g pack feta
approx. 1/4 cup almonds, chopped

For the dressing:
2 tsp white miso
1 tsp honey
2 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
black pepper and a little salt (not much, the miso is salty)

Wash and chop the lettuce and put it in a medium sized bowl. Remove the peel from the melon, chop it into bite-sized chunks and add to the bowl. Crumble in the feta. Toast the almonds in a frying pan over a medium-low heat until lightly browned (or in the oven, if you feel like switching it on)

In a separate, small bowl, beat together the dressing ingredients. When ready to serve, add the toasted nuts to the salad, then pour over the dressing and toss.


Notes: sometimes I like to add a little chopped mint - not always though, often it's good in it's simplest form. This dressing is in very regular rotation in our kitchen - over all kinds of salads - it's very adaptable - sometimes just a hint of miso, sometimes some mustard too, sometimes lemon juice instead of vinegar, sometimes without honey...

Chard, herb and feta pide-pie

Recently, when I've gotten something in my head I want to eat, I want to eat that thing and only that thing. Yesterday, it was pie - something like the multitude of greens+cheese pies we ate in Greece. We had a big bunch of chard in the fridge, and with some feta and a selection of herbs from the yard, this seemed like it (I used this recipe and this one as guides for the filling). But then, pastry - I never really make pastry, I definitely don't have a go-to recipe. I also have a distinct aversion to going to the shops for a single ingredient - I'd always rather improvise with the contents of the fridge. And I don't currently own a pie dish, so I had to find something that could be free-shaped and plonked on a baking sheet. It turns out that thing can be called a galette, and I liked the idea of a dough with yoghurt in it (I'd like it even more if it had olive oil instead of butter, will have to investigate), so I thought I'd try this recipe. When S got home, he thought the idea came from the tasty pide I have sometimes been buying from a Middle Eastern bakery on the way home, and it's true - they were pretty much pide-shaped and filled, and pide are also a freeform shape like what I was looking for - next time, I'll have to look up pide dough recipes.

(Make sure to start the dough an hour before you want to shape and bake the pies - it needs to rest in the fridge. I made two medium sized pies that fitted comfortably on my baking trays, but the recipe could easily make one big pie or four smaller pies)

For the dough:
160 g (1 1/4 cups) plain flour (definitely needs more - at least 200g)
1/4 tsp salt (don't use if using salted butter)
115 g (8 tbsp) cold unsalted butter (don't add extra salt if using salted)
60 g (1/4 cup) yoghurt
2 tsp lemon juice
60 ml (1/4 cup) ice water


For the filling:
big bunch of chard (c. 250 g - or beet greens)
olive oil
3 large spring onions, chopped
2 tbsp chopped parsley, chopped
1 tbsp chopped oregano, chopped
2 tsp chopped mint, chopped
2 tsp chopped sage, chopped
2 tbsp grated parmesan
1/3 of a 200g pack of feta
1 egg, and the white of another left from making the pastry glaze, beaten
salt+pepper

For the pastry glaze:
1 egg yolk (put the rest in the filling), beaten with
1 tsp water

First, prepare the dough: put the flour (and salt, if using) into a large bowl, then chop the butter into small dice and add to the bowl. Rub the butter into the flour as if making crumble. Mix the yoghurt, lemon juice and water in a small bowl, then add to the flour-butter crumbs and mix until the dough comes together into a ball. Add a little more flour if it doesn't stick together in a ball. Wrap the ball in clingfilm and put in the fridge for at least an hour (up to two days).

While resting the dough, prepare the filling. Wash chard and separate stems from leafy parts. Chop the stems, and tear the leafy parts into pieces. Heat olive oil in a large frying pan and add the spring onions and chard stems. Fry reasonably high for a few minutes. Add chard leaves and herbs and saute for a few minutes, until the chard collapses. Let cool a bit in the pan, then transfer to a colander. When cool enough to handle, squeeze out as much liquid as you can and discard the liquid. Transfer the mixture to a bowl, crumble over the feta, then add the parmesan and egg, mix up, and season with salt and pepper. This should be about the right time to start the oven - heat to 200C / 400F.

To assemble, split the dough in half. Roll out one half into an approximate circle on a well-floured work surface. It should be about the size of a large plate, about 3 mm thick. Fold lightly in half, then in quarters, and transfer to a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Unfold. Spread half the filling in the middle, out to about 1 1/2 inches from the edge. Then fold in the edges to overlap the outer part of the filling, pleating and crumpling to make it fit. Brush the exposed pastry with egg glaze, then put the pie in the oven. Repeat with the other half of the dough and filling.

Bake for approximately 25-30 minutes, until the pie is golden. Take out and eat pretty much immediately with a simple salad, or let cool and take for lunches (it's fairly robust and travels well).


Notes:
Shaping the dough was super straightforward, and nothing annoying happened whatsoever. And the pies came out great - prettily crumpled and golden, crisp tasty pastry (no soggy bottom), stored well in the fridge for a few days and nice cold (although I have actually been reheating in the microwave at work for c. 15 sec). Could maybe have done with a little more filling, but it was sufficient - never underestimate how much greens collapse when cooked! So many other filling ideas now! And, I would like to try with an olive oil pastry.

* I used the gram measurements from the original recipe, but it came out a little wet and I had to add a bit more flour - my guess is it should be approx. 200 g flour instead of 160 g

Walnut pesto (and walnut-cauliflower pasta salad)

Our heap of walnuts remains, as yet undwindling. Seb is mocking me for spending all my spare moments cracking nuts with my Granddads favourite nutcracker from 1981. But the proceeds are so nice. Some went into cookies for people waiting to be deported in Jutland at J's bday get together. For a totally different use, I thought of walnut pesto, I think inspired by this. I adapted that recipe only in as much as I substituted stuff we had in the house.

1 cup shelled walnuts
1 small garlic clove
1/4 cup grated parmesan
3 tsp mixed dried thyme, chilli and salt
2 tsp white wine vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil
3 tbsp red pesto (subbed for 2 tbsp sundried tomatoes - used a bit less oil and cheese accordingly)

Toast the walnuts and let cool. Put in a blender with the garlic and pulse until roughly chopped. Transfer to a bowl and mix in grated cheese, herbs and salt, vinegar, oil and pesto. Mix together, taste for seasoning and vinegar, and eat on everything.

Some became an awesome pasta salad, with roasted cauliflower and tomatoes, white beans, parsley and diced mozzarella (or feta) - this is recommended. But it works with everything - a spoonful on top of some pasta e ceci, for example...

Diced cucumber, tomato and feta salad with chickpeas

Cucumbers are so deliciously crunchy and crisp and delicately tasty and juicy. Perfect antidote to accidentally drinking too much coffee... again. Why not cut them into chickpea-sized pieces along with some cucumbers and a little bit of feta... add parsley and tasty bits and pieces, and crunch on it along with a bit of bread... whenever I cook chickpeas they disappear so fast!

1/2 cucumber, diced
6 ish small-medium tomatoes, diced
1 in piece of feta, diced
cupful of cooked chickpeas
2 tbsp chopped parsley
1 tbsp chopped capers
1 tbsp chopped sundried tomatoes
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
salt+pepper

Mix everything together, dress with olive oil, balsamic, salt+pepper. Done.


Nothing but simple food, and especially salads at the moment. S has been bringing lunch to work as well since we moved here, so it's kind of a fun challenge thinking of what will feed my appetite plus his.

Warm beluga lentil salad with tomato, parsley and feta

A bag of beluga lentils was an impulse buy at my current favourite shop in Copenhagen, a Turkish grocer's in the southerly part of Norrebro. They were the same price as the other lentils, that's why: I think I'd always thought of them as the fancy expensive kind of lentils so the level pricing clinched the deal...

When I cooked them I saw why they have a reputation. They hold their shape well, and like forbidden/black/purple rice they develop a wonderfully deep dark purplish black colour (hence beluga). Good solid earthy taste too.

My go-to for lentils of the brown-green-black varieties is to turn them into a quick salad, with some elements of spices (coriander, cumin, cinnamon, paprika, chilli, sumac are favourites), olive oil, acid (balsamic vinegar or lemon juice), herbs (coriander, chives, parsley, mint), powerful flavour pockets (sundried tomatoes, capers, caramelized onions+garlic, olives), crunch (toasted seeds or chopped nuts), and probably something a bit creamy (thick yoghurt, tahini, feta) and something fresh (chopped tomatoes, leaves, maybe cucumber). I thought I must have written out a million of these salads on here, but on checking found not that many. Endless variants possible!

The beluga lentils were so pretty and tasty I wanted to keep it relatively simple, so cut back on spices etc and made a salad with just some basic components.

1 cup beluga lentils cooked with a bay leaf and a couple of peeled cloves of garlic in 1 3/4 cups water
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1-2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
salt+pepper
2 tbsp chopped parsley
6 medium-small tomatoes, chopped (or sundried tomatoes)
2 cm lump of feta, crumbled
2 tbsp chopped hazelnuts (optional)

Cook the beluga lentils with bay leaf and garlic. They should take about 15-20 min. When done (slight bite remaining, no liquid left), mix the oil, vinegar, salt and pepper in the bottom of a serving bowl, tip the lentils in and mix together. Taste to check seasoning. Once they have cooled a little, add parsley, tomatoes and feta and toss. Add hazelnuts if using, check seasoning, and serve.


Very pretty: purple lentils, white feta, red tomatoes, green parsley. And just as tasty as its more complicated relatives.