Yes, I am catching onto the viral trends, albeit a lot later than many, but at least I finally am there! The baked feta idea came to me when I was consulting Toska Chocolate House when we started having feta in our ingredient list for a salad - one you must try if you’re in Ahmedabad. We serve it baked with homemade spicy tomato chutney, olives, herbs and lots of love!
Feta is not my top choice cheese – not because of its taste, but rather the lack of shelf life. I’m a sporadic and moody eater, and we all know once you open that pack of feta, you pretty much need to inhale it within a day before it gets too sour. Which is why I have always refrained from buying it.
This recipe I share here, is again stemmed from one of those nights where I found half a block of feta, just beginning to sour, so not suited for a cold salad. I thought, let’s bake it and see what happens. The flavours here are sweet, salty, spicy and crunchy – highlight is the fried almonds which is a sheer delight on its own, but even better here. This is one of those recipes that is put together by instinct rather than meticulous measurement – so keep that in mind when assembling and feel confident to adjust ingredient amounts as per your heart’s desire!
The Recipe
Prep Time: 10 mins | Cook Time: 20 mins | Serves: 2-4
Ingredients
3 tbsp olive oil
¼ cup honey (I used Eucalyptus Honey)
2 tbsp chili sauce or freshly cut green chilies
3-4 sprigs of fresh thyme
pinch of salt
½ tsp black pepper
2 tbsp sesame seeds
Almonds:
Handful of almonds halves
Olive oil to fry
Sea salt
Instructions
Put half the honey, chili sauce, salt, pepper, 1 sprig thyme and stir with a spoon
Place the feta block on top
Add the rest of the honey on top and thyme sprigs
Sprinkle the sesame seeds on top
Bake at 180C for 20 minutes
In the meantime, fry the almonds
Remove from the oil and sprinkle sea salt on top
When you remove the feta from the oven and add all the almonds on top
Serve with toasted sourdough slices and crackers
