Tag Archives: feta

Warm salad of bulgur wheat, courgette, spinach and feta

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When I made this salad for lunch this week my expectations were quite low. I used up some veggies I had laying around the fridge and thought I would have an alright lunch, but nothing more.

Although this salad is so simple and easy, it turned out really satisfying. I was actually quite surprised! Never underestimate the power of simple ingredients.

Warm salad of bulgur wheat, courgette, spinach and feta, serves 2

400 ml bulgur wheat, cooked according to the instructions of the packet

1 courgette

olive oil and butter for frying

200 g fresh baby spinach

150 g feta

1/2 lemon, juice only

2 tbsp nice extra virgin olive oil

a pinch of salt, black pepper

Cut the courgette in half lenghtways and slice it. Fry in oil and butter until soft and golden brown. Remove from pan. Add the spinach to the pan and stir until it wilts. Squeeze it to remove excess liquid and place with the courgette.

Heat up the bulgur if needed and mix in the vegetables, lemon juice and olive oil. Add the crumbled feta and season. 

Grilled aubergine with garlic, parsley and feta

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I made these in the week when it was my turn to host the book club, and they went down a treat. I just love soft aubergines in anything but pairing them with another favourite – feta –  is just heaven!

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You hardly need a recipe, but since Simon Hopkinson has already provided one, I have adapted it below.

This dish works both for lunch and dinner and would look great on a buffet too. It suits more casual gatherings, picnics or a more upscale dinner party. Meet the equivalent of your favourite LBD. Just dress it up or down to suit the occasion.

Grilled aubergine with garlic, parsley and feta, serves 4

Adapted from Simon Hopkinson’s recipe.

4 aubergines

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

 handful parsley, finely chopped

5-6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (or coldpressed rapeseed oil)

a little salt, more black pepper

150 g feta

1 lemon, for serving

Turn the grill on high or the oven on 225-250C. 

Run a small, sharp knife round the top of the aubergine, 1cm/½in or so below the stalk and only just cutting through the skin; then make four evenly spaced, similarly shallow cuts, along the length of the aubergine right down to the end.

Grill the aubergines in the oven for 20 minutes. Turn them every 5-7 minutes if you use the grill. They’re done when they’re soft all the way through. 

Let them rest for 2 minutes. 

Peel the skin off the aubergines. Without cutting right through the stalk end, cut the aubergines in half lengthways and gently prise apart until you have two horizontal halves remaining attached at the top end. 

Mix garlic and parsley with olive oil and spoon over the aubergines. Add a little salt and plenty of black pepper. Crumble the feta on top and add some more oil if you like. Serve with lemon wedges. 

Black salsify and feta fritters with wild garlic mayo

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While preparing my supper quite late last night my flatmate asked me what I was making. He looked puzzled when I said I was cooking with salsify and showed him the long dark sticks. He still didn’t know what it was, and I realised then that it is a rather unusual vegetable.

But it shouldn’t be. It grows in Britain and similar climates (like Sweden and Southern Europe), it is nutrious and as it is a root vegetable it makes this time of year a whole lot more interesting (as it is mainly root vegetables and cabbage that grows locally in winter).

In Sweden it is knows as poor man’s asparagus as it is similar in taste, and I read that it is also said to taste similar to oysters.

In this recipe I paired it with feta and lemon juice and added the subtle garlic flavour of the wild garlic in the mayonnaise. The whole dish feels like a promise of spring. Utterly delicious! I had it as a light supper but it also works as a lunch, brunch or even breakfast.

PS. If you haven’t got flavoured oil at hand, you can make the mayonnaise from fresh wild garlic instead.

Black salsify and feta fritters with wild garlic mayo, serves 1

3 black salsify, peeled and coarsely grated 

3 tbsp feta

1 egg white

4-5 tbsp plain flour

1 tsp lemon juice

salt, black pepper

butter and oil for frying

Fry the grated salsify in butter for a few minutes to soften. Then transfer to a mixing bowl. Add the crumbled feta, egg white (save the yolk for the mayo), flour, lemon juice and seasoning. Mix well. Heat up butter and oil in a frying pan on medium heat. Spoon the mixture into the pan shaping four fritters. Fry until golden brown on both sides.  

Wild garlic mayonnaise, serves 1

1 egg yolk, at room temperature 

ca 100 ml wild garlic flavoured oil

1 lemon wedge, the juice

salt, white pepper

Beat the egg yolk and add the oil drop by drop while whisking until you have a thick mayonnaise. Add lemon juice and seasoning. 

Summer salad with sweet potato, aubergine, spring onions and feta

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This gorgeous weather needs some lighter food, don’t you think?! Especially if you like me live in a top floor flat with lots of skylights, that apart from letting light in also let the warmth in.

Last week I made this fantastic salad, and I have a feeling I will eat it all summer long. It is just that good. And apart from tasting good it is also good for you. Not bad, heh?

I ate it as it is pictured above, on its own, both for dinner one day and lunch the next. It would of course work well for a summer barbecue or a picnic too.

A salad is a salad; so look at the recipe below as a guide instead of a proper recipe. With the right ingredients you can’t go wrong.

Summer salad with sweet potato, aubergine, spring onions and feta, 2 portioner

2 baby aubergine

1 sweet potato

2 handfuls rocket

100 g feta

3 spring onions, chopped

½ lemon, the juice

extra virgin olive oil

salt, pepper

Wash the aubergine and cut into cubes of ½ x ½ cm. Peel the sweet potato and cut into equal cubes. Place in a roasting dish and coat with olive oil. Season. Roast unril soft, about 20-30 minutes, 200C.

When the vegetables are done, take out two salad bowls and put a handful of rocket in each. Divide the sweet potato and aubergine between the bowls and crumble the feta on top. Add the spring onions and dress the salad with lemon juice and a good olive oil. Season and dig in.

Ottolenghi inspired beans with spring onions and feta

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I have probably raved about Ottolenghis vegetarian cookbook Plenty enough for you to know that I love it and use it quite a lot.

The only ‘problem’ I have with the some of the recipes are the more uncommon ingredients that are sometimes required. At least uncommon when not found in a London supermarket. If you live in the countryside and have your own garden it is of course different.

I found a lovely recipe of fried butterbeans with feta, springonions and sorrel. Sorrel being that difficult ingredient to find in a London supermarket this time of year.

Because of omitting the sorrel and making a few other substitutes, this is not an Ottolenghi recipe anymore, but close enough. If you want the real deal, then look in his book and make sure you source some sorrel.

I ate this bean salad as it is with some nice bread for supper, but you can easily serve it as a side dish at a barbecue, instead of mash with sausages or any other way you want.

Ottolenghi inspired beans with spring onions and feta, serves 2

1 can (400g) cannellini beans

plenty of butter and oil for frying

1 garlic clove

1 red chilli, finely chopped

8 spring onions, chopped

2 tsp sumac

1/2 lemon, the juice

1/2 tsp salt

more olive oil

as much crumbled feta as you like

Rinse the beans and drain. Heat up the butter and oil in a frying pan and only add enough beans to cover the bottom, to fry them in batches. Fry until the beans are golden brown, remove and fry the other batch(es). Add the garlic, chilli and onions to the last batch. Fry for a couple of minutes and add the other beans. Remove from the heat and add the lemon juice and sumac. Add salt and olive oil and lastly the feta.