Showing posts with label feta. Show all posts
Showing posts with label feta. Show all posts

Tuesday 9 July 2013

three summer salads with feta



What's not to love about summer and alfresco dining... crisp fresh ingredients tossed together with crumbs of feta, dressed with fresh lemon and olive oil, served and enjoyed outdoors - this for me is summer on a plate.  These three ideas are all extremely simple to prepare and very pretty to eat.  As they all use a hint of feta, I wouldn't necessarily serve them together but rather mix and match them to different meals or BBQ's. 
 
I couldn't resist dressing the table with a few hand picked herbal blooms straight from the garden, a little bouquet of Lavender, Chamomile, and Pea shoots add a delicate touch to your table.
 
 

Roasted sweet potato, beetroot and feta salad

 

  • Serves 2/4
  • 2 large sweet potatoes, sliced or cubed
  • 5 medium sized roasted beetroots
  • 1/2 slab of feta
  • lettuce leaves
Method:
 
1) Place sweet potatoes in a roasting dish, drizzle with olive oil and roast in a preheated oven of 180 degrees for 20 minutes or until crispy but still soft.  If your beetroots are fresh, cover each one with foil and place in the oven together with the sweet potatoes but leave in for at least an hour till soft, remove from foil and peel the skin off.  Alternatively use pre-packed already cooked beets.
 
2) Toss all together with crumbed feta, place on the lettuce leaves and drizzle with olive oil and little balsamic vinegar.
 

 

Courgette, mint, chilli and feta salad



  • Serves 2/4
  • 3 raw courgettes, peeled length ways with a peeler
  • 1/2 medium heat red chilli, finely chopped
  • 1/4 slab of feta, crumbed
  • few sprigs of mint
Method:
 
1) Toss all together in a bowl and dress with olive oil and fresh lemon juice.  Note this is best when the courgettes have been marinated in the dressing for at least half an hour, they go all soft but still maintain a slight crunch.


Rosemary roasted butternut and feta salad



  • Serves 2/4
  • 1 butternut, peeled and sliced into chunks
  • few sprigs of rosemary
  • 1/2 slab of feta, crumbed
  • 1 tsp chicken spice
Method:
 
1) Sprinkle the chicken spice over the butternut together with the sprigs of fresh rosemary, roast in preheated oven of 180 degrees for 20 mins.
 
2) Toss together with the feta and dress with olive oil.


Wednesday 26 June 2013

watermelon and feta


Something refreshing for dare I say it these slightly warmer days.  This is in essence the Greeks equivalent to British strawberries and cream.  A true staple in Greece where restaurant owners may even bring you a plate as a post-meal refresher - on the house.  It also goes down well in the afternoon when everyone wakes from their siesta about to head down to the beach.  Back in the UK I love it any place, any time.
 
The combination of feta and watermelon may sound strange to those who haven't tried it but trust me it works very well.  It's a sweet and salty explosion of flavours, you will never be able to eat watermelon without feta ever again.  A few sprigs of mint would also go down well with this.
 

 
You will need:
  • watermelon
  • good quality feta (preferably cows milk feta not goats milk)
 
Method:
 
1) Slice some cold watermelon and serve with slices of good quality feta.
 


Tuesday 2 April 2013

cherry tomato, lentil & feta salad



Now here is a quick and delicious salad that is not only refreshing and simple to make, but also quite filling.  Lentils are a great source of fibre and work really well in the salad together with the crunch of the sweet red onion, they add a wonderful texture to this salad.  I love serving it as a side for a BBQ or even in a wrap as an ideal lunch.

I have to say this was my favourite salad of last year and seeing as the sun decided to make its guest appearance today I thought it was a perfect day to share this with you.

Enjoy!























You'll need:

1 packet of cherry tomatoes
1 tin of brown lentils
1 red onion, sliced very thinly
1 block of feta
1 handful of parsley, coarsely chopped
1 Tbs good quality olive oil
1 Tbs balsamic vinegar

Method:

1) Slice the tomatoes, and mix in a bowl with the lentils, onions, parsley and crumble the feta over and season with salt, pepper and dressing (olive oil and balsamic vinegar).

Note: Feel free to add more tomatoes if you are making a bigger salad.

Wednesday 23 January 2013

golden beetroot & feta risotto



Talk about having to climatise...  Having just returned from a long stint in sunny South Africa this snowy winter wonderland sure is an adjustment.  Coming from a land of salads and BBQ's, I had all good intention of carrying out the all healthy, all slimming January detox.  It soon became apparent that in this icy weather, we are still very much in need of warm comforting food and that's exactly what you can expect over the next couple of weeks.

Let the detox begin in February, where we'll 'Detox - the delicious way'!   There will be soups, curries, stews, bean salads, dips, healthy snacks and lots of herbal teas. 

But for now, here is a warm creamy risotto, using golden beetroot which you don't always find and feta.






Serves 4

You'll  need:

1 red onion, chopped
3 golden beetroots (roasted in foil to maintain their juices and diced)
1 slab of feta (to taste)
400g arborio risotto rice
300ml boiling stock
4 Tbs white wine
salt and pepper to taste
slice of lemon

Method:

1) Put oil in a pan and saute onion
2) Pour in the rice and coat with the onion and oil, then add the wine
3) Gently add the stock spoon by spoon, allowing all the stock to be absorbed by the rice before adding the next ladle, over medium heat for approx 20 minutes.  If you need to increase the amount of stock do so, until the rice is al dente, but not too soft.
4) Add chopped up feta and beetroot and let it cook through the rice.
5) Serve immediately warm and creamy, and squeeze a slice of lemon over and season with salt and pepper