Middle Eastern Marinated Feta

As I write this, we are in the midst of our annual series of mini heat waves here in Toronto.

So it means no cooking.  Salads, sandwiches, dips, crudités, grilled meats are all on repeat. We have our favourites, like this Honeydew, Cucumber and Feta Salad, Bruschetta Pasta, BLT Pasta Salad, etc.  But my favourite summer salads are Tabbouleh and Fattoush.  Both are Middle Eastern in origin and sensibility.  The flavours and ingredients of Turkey, Lebanon, Egypt and of course Greece and Italy really lend themselves to summer cooking and entertaining.  So many bright, fresh and cooling ingredients.  Especially mint. 

And mint, along with parsley show up in both Tabbouleh and Fattoush.  They are very similar, in that they are basically chopped salads consisting of cucumber, herbs, onions, cucumber, lemon, sumac etc.    The difference is that Tabbouleh uses cracked wheat or bulghur as the carby component, while Fattoush uses torn grilled or baked pita bread.  Both salads are great for a few days in a row- they are hearty enough that you can make extra and live off of them for a few days.

So I decided to take those flavours and create an appetizer with them.  And this recipe happened.  Marinated Feta.  This is great as a first course with various other meze (or mezze), dips, and pita.  Or just have it on the side of a large summer meal you are serving.  Or to pop in your mouth as you are passing the fridge. Use a good quality firm Feta.  I love a Bulgarian Feta.  Oh, I just learned that Feta is a term like champagne.  While the method for making feta cheese is similar throughout all the Balkan lands, all of them having used this method of brining a combo of sheep and goat cheese, only Greece gets to use the name Feta.  The rest of the countries have to call it white cheese.   Seeing how most of us here in North America had no idea about the drama behind the name, we acknowledge all feta-style cheeses as being related.  So  I guess I need to say I love a Bulgarian white, feta style cheese. Wherever you source it, as long as it isn’t too soft or creamy, you are good.  You don’t want it to crumble as you slice it up.

The recipe is so easy.  Basically you are taking cubed Feta and shallots, and marinating them in a combo of olive oil, lemon juice, herbs and seasonings, with a bit of heat for fun.  A wide shallow bowl or container is great, so that you can spread out the cubed cheese, with a bit of room around each for the marinade to settle.  It really only needs a couple of hours to do it’s work, and then you have the best cheese to snack on.  And it keeps in the fridge fabulously.  So put it right next to the leftover Tabbouleh!

You can add the heat in two ways for this marinade recipe.  Of course a finely diced red chilli pepper or chilli flakes with do the job wonderfully.  But I decided to add some Asian Chili Garlic Sauce to the olive oil.  It has the perfect amount of heat, is already all chopped up, and blends seamlessly with the oil.  And it’s a great way to use up that chili sauce that you may have sitting at the back of the fridge or in the pantry.  Yes, I know this isn’t exactly authentic, but come on, the end result is just fabulous!

The herbs I decided to use are mint and oregano.  Mint, because it just goes so well with everything, both sweet and savoury, and it has cooling properties.  This is great for the dog days of summer.  The other herb I threw in was fresh oregano, as a nod to the Greek influence for this dish.  Because I had it, and because we need more reasons to use it as well.  If you don’t have fresh oregano around, feel free to sub in parsley or even cilantro.

I use 2 thick slices of preserved lemon in the marinade as well.  But some lemon zest and juice would work just as well to round out the olive oil.  That’s pretty well it.  Store any leftovers in the fridge.  Just be prepared to remove it about 30 minutes before serving again, as the olive oil will have solidified in the cold.  But all is good.

Having a plate of this along with the marinade makes for such a great snack.  Wrapping torn pieces of warmed-through pita around a piece of the feta and popping it into your mouth is like throwing a party for your taste buds!  Leftover marinade is amazing to soak up as well.  In fact, if you do have leftover marinade store it in a jar and use it for salad dressing or a marinade for chicken the next day. 

I hope you are staying cool, (if it is summer when you are reading this)  And if it is winter, guess what, this is still an amazing appetizer to serve before grilled lamb chops or a Chicken Tagine or even a Biryani for dinner!   As I finish typing this I am popping a lovely cube of highly flavoured feta into my mouth, and I’m a happy camper.  Just need to go pull out the Arak!

Love Jen

5 from 2 votes

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Middle Eastern Marinated Feta

The perfect snack on a hot summer's day.  Add it to your meze platters for a great casual way to entertain.  Cubed feta and shallots are marinated in olive oil, chili, mint, oregano and lemon. The marinade is amazing on it's own to be sopped up with pita bread, or to turn into a salad dressing later on!

Course Appetizer

Prep Time 20 minutes

Resting Time 2 hours

Servings 6

Ingredients

• 12-14 oz Bulgarian Feta or any other good quality Feta that isn't too soft or creamy
• 1 1/2-2 cups extra virgin olive oil This will depend on how large the dish you will be marinating is. You want to cover the cheese ideally
• 1-2 tbsp Asian chili garlic sauce (adjust, depending on how hot you would like it) If you can't find this, then increase the chili pepper and garlic below
• 1 clove of garlic minced
• 1/2 small red chili pepper finely diced
• 2 large thick slices preserved lemon finely diced, see Notes below
• 3 shallots sliced cross-wise into thin rings
• 1/2 cup packed finely chopped mint and oregano combined. You can replace the oregano with cilantro or parsley if you can't find the oregano.
• large pinch fresh cracked black pepper

Instructions

1. Cut the feta in half. And then cut each half into 1 inch cubes. Place these in a wide shallow dish or container that will allow the marinade to puddle around each piece and up the sides.

2. Combine all the rest of the ingredients in a bowl and whisk till well blended.

3. Pour this marinade over the feta. Cover the dish with a lid or plastic wrap. Allow it to marinade for at least 2 hours.

4. Serve in the same dish if you like it, or transfer the cheese and much of the marinade to a lovely shallow serving plate.  Scatter fresh cracked black pepper over everything before serving.

5. Serve with pita bread, on the side with hummus, wrapped stuffed grape leaves, grilled meats, crudités etc.

Recipe Notes

You can replace the preserved lemon with the zest of 1-2 lemons, and the juice of 1/2 lemon. If you are doing this, then add 1/2 tsp of salt as well.

Any leftover marinade makes for a lovely dressing thinned out with some more lemon juice or sherry vinegar.

Or use it as a marinade for grilled chicken or pork.

The feta and marinade will keep in the fridge for at least 1 week.