The Food Diaries

Feta cheese with lemon and thyme

This combo of salty cheese, cut by the fresh sharpness of the lemon and given a bit more personality with the addition of fresh thyme is a match made in heaven. Oh, and so quick to put together. Served alongside a Greek-ish salad assortment (ripe tomato wedges, black wrinkly olives, crisp cucumber, little gem lettuces), which your guest can assemble on their plates themselves removes the headache too of remembering who has an aversion to what (cheese, olives, cucumber, etc.).

In a small bowl crumble in a 250g packet of feta cheese. Grate the rind of 1 lemon overtop. Add a sprinkling of fresh (or dried) thyme leaves and a drizzle of olive oil.

Lentil salad with feta, peppers & mint

In a medium pot place 250g Puy lentils (try to source these as they really hold their shape nicely and have a lovely nutty taste to them). Cover with water and add 3 garlic cloves, peeled, 1 small onion, peeled and halved, and 1 bay leaf. Bring to a boil, and then simmer for about 20-25 minutes till tender. Drain and immediately stir in a good glug of olive oil. Season with sea salt and pepper.

While the lentils are cooking, crumble 150g feta cheese into a small bowl and add the zest and juice of 1 lemon. Set aside to marinate.

While the lentils are still warm add 1 small jar of sweet roasted peppers (coarsely chopped, or crushed with your hands), 1 stick of celery, very finely diced, the feta cheese and a small handful of mint, chopped.

Serve at room temperature.

You can easily adapt this recipe by (for instance) swapping goat’s cheese for the feta, finely diced tomatoes for the peppers, and parsley or coriander for the mint.

Aperitivo hour: Smoked red pepper & feta dip

This dip looks quite coarse but is really delicious, especially when served with some warmed pita bread (and a few crudites wouldn’t go amiss either).

Try and track down a jar of Greek flame-roasted red peppers (350g), such as the Karyatis brand - these are as good, if not better than making your own. If you do make your own (i.e. roasting and peeling your own peppers) you will need about 3 whole red peppers. The process is so slow and tedious however I’m not going to bother describing how to do it here!

Roasting onions is a whole lot easier. Place 2 red onions or shallots (125g) in a hot oven (200 degrees) for about 35 minutes, till soft.

In a food processor, pulse together the red peppers and the peeled onions (don’t puree them into oblivion, they should looked chopped). Now add 180g crumbled Feta cheese, 3 tbs olive oil, 1 tbs sherry vinegar, 1tsp thyme leaves, chopped. Blitz till a coarse texture is achieve.

Note: for a creamier texture, add 3 tbs cream cheese along with the Feta.

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Winter Warmers: Sweet Potato Soup with harissa, feta and caramelised onions

In a pot saute 1 red onion, thinly sliced in 1 tbs olive oil till the onion starts to colour. Add three chopped scallions and stir for a few minutes more till they start to soften. Add 2 tbs mirin (sweet Japanese cooking wine) and let evaporate. Add 450g sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped, 2 tsp harissa paste, 500ml vegetable stock and 1 cup canned, chopped tomatoes. Bring to a boil and then simmer, covered for about 30 minutes. 

Meanwhile, saute 1 red onion, thinly sliced in 1 tbs olive oil till the onion starts to caramelise (stir pretty constantly to prevent charring). Add 1 tbs pomegranate molasses (or substitute baslamic vinegar) and let evaporate. Transfer to a bowl.

Once the sweet potato is cooked stir in 125 ml Greek yogurt and puree or mash to a soup consistency. To serve, stir 50g feta, crumbled, into the soup and then ladle the soup into bowls (serves 4) and add a garnish of crumbled feta (50g in total) and the onion mixture.

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Lentil salad with tomatoes and Gorgonzola

Here’s another liberal adaptation of a recipe from Ottolenghi’s new Plenty cookbook. This is a really good make-ahead lunch option - meat-free, yet still protein-rich.

Cook 250g Puy lentils in a large pot of boiling water till tender (20-30 minutes). Drain and place in a serving dish. I quite like the Black Beluga lentil ready-to-eat packets such as those sold under the Merchant Gourmet brand. Whil still warm add the following: 1 small red onion, finely sliced, 1 tbs sherry vinegar, 1 tsp Maldon sea salt, 2 tbs olive oil, and 1 garlic clove, crushed.

Once cool add a well-packed 1/2 cup chopped herbs (choose any combo from parsley, chives, dill, and chervil), 80g crumbled Gorgonzola or Feta, and 3/4 cup of any of the following combo (chopped sunblush tomatoes, sundried tomatoes, grilled red peppers), and a dash of  balsamic vinegar.

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Asparagus with feta with lemon zest - from Ottolenghi’s Plenty

The asparagus season has been particularly bountiful this year, so am having to expand my repertoire of asparagus recipes. This one is ever-so-slightly adapted from Ottolenghi’s wonderful new recipe book Plenty.

Throw a large bunch of asparagus (500g), ends trimmed, into a roasting dish. Drizzle with 1tbs rapeseed oil and sprinkle with Maldon sea salt. Place in a hot oven (200c) for around 10 minutes (or until the tips are nicely grilled). Transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle with crumbled feta (60g), the zest of 1 lemon, a little olive oil, and some freshly ground pepper.

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Return of the Red Camargue Rice Salad with Feta

Here’s another take on a red rice salad and I think more successful than my previous attempt. The main difference is that I used more long grain rice proportionate to the red rice and I used some lovely grilled pimientos and chopped mint for a fresher taste.

Fry up a finely chopped medium onion and garlic clove in a little olive oil till transparent. Add 1/4 cup red rice and 1/2 cup brown long grain rice and stir till well coated. Add 1 1/2 cups of water (or a nice vegetable stock), cover and simmer till all the water has been absorbed. Mix together one crushed garlic clove (though I prefer to pound it to a paste using a mortar and pestle for a less sharp flavour), 1 tbs sherry vinegar, 2 tbs olive oil, 1 tbs Greek yogurt, 1 tbs green tapenade, 3 small grilled and peeled pimientos finely chopped/crushed (I find the kind find in a jar perfectly suitable, from Spain or Chile) , and a little salt and pepper. Pour over the still warm rice and mix well. Crumble some feta cheese on top, sprinkle with sumac and chopped mint and serve.

Red Camargue Rice Salad with Feta

Grown in the marshy region of the South of France at the mouth of Rhône delta called the Camargue (famous for its  wild white horses, pink flamingos, and black bulls), this rice is a hybrid of cultivated and wild rice, and has a lovely nutty flavour. Relatively easy to find nowadays in good supermarkets, I particularly like red rice in salads or pilafs (really lovely with mushrooms) - check out the Waitrose recipe collection for ideas.

Here’s my take on a red rice salad:

Fry up a finely chopped medium onion and garlic clove in a little olive oil till transparent. Add 1/2 cup red rice and 1/2 cup brown long grain rice and stir till well coated. Add 2 cups of water (or I like a mushroom stock), cover and simmer till all the water has been absorbed. Mix together one crushed garlic clove (though I prefer to pound it to a paste using a mortar and pestle for a less sharp flavour), 1 tbs sherry vinegar, 3 tbs olive oil, 1 tsp dijon mustard, and a little salt and pepper. Pour over the still warm rice and mix well. Crumble some feta cheese on top, sprinkle with sumac and chopped mint and serve.

Optional: add a tablespoon or two of green tapenade for a slightly sharper taste, some chopped roasted hazelnuts or pistachio for a bit of crunch, some chopped grilled and peeled red peppers (a good store-bought jar is a really good option) for sweetness.