Feast on feta

Use this comparatively low-fat cheese to add great flavour to your meals

Tirokafteri
Ingredients
250 gm feta
65 gm labneh yoghurt
5 gm red long chilli, chopped
50 gm leeks
20 gm spring onion
70 gm red capsicum, roasted, seedless, skinless and chopped
5 gm fresh oregano (chopped) or a pinch of dry oregano
1 gm sweet paprika
1 gm vinegar
0.5 gm chilli powder
5 gm fresh thyme

Method
Chop the white part of the leeks and spring onion. Sauté leeks in a pan until golden. Char-grill the capsicum, then de-seed, skin and chop up. Blend the labneh yoghurt with all the ingredients, except feta.
Finally, crumble the feta cheese into the dip and mix by hand. Serve with bread or veggies.

Like Spinach Pie Salad
Ingredients
1 sheet filo or puff pastry
10 ml olive oil
Sesame seeds, as required
80 gm baby spinach
10 gm spring onion
Pinch of fresh dill, finely chopped
Pinch of fresh mint, finely chopped
Pinch of fresh basil, finely chopped
Lemon juice to taste
Pepper and salt to taste
20 gm crumble feta

For the feta dressing:
125 gm feta cheese
75 gm milk
Pinch of oregano
Pinch of rosemary
Salt and pepper to taste
100 gm fresh cream

Method
For the dressing, blend feta, milk, oregano, rosemary, salt and pepper together. Add the cream and blend again until smooth. Season to taste.
Open the filo pastry, brush with olive oil and dust with some sesame seeds. Bake it in an oven at 160°C for four minutes or until golden. Brake the filo into big pieces and keep aside.
Mix all the remaining ingredients together in a bowl.
Decorate with filo pastry on top, drizzle over with feta dressing and dust with sesame seeds. Serve.


Saganaki Mussels
Ingredients
35 ml olive oil
250 gm white onion
10 gm garlic
500 gm grated fresh tomato
70 gm tomato paste
15 gm sugar
2 gm oregano
2 gm thyme
10 gm parsley, chopped
10 gm basil, chopped
5 gm dill, chopped
½ red chilli, chopped
500 gm fresh mussels
80 gm feta, crumbled
Salt and pepper to taste

Method
Heat olive oil in a pan, and sauté onion until golden and soft. Lower the fire and add garlic (take care not to burn it).
Add the tomato, tomato paste and sugar, and sauté for a couple of minutes until cooked. Add oregano and thyme, half parsley and half basil and boil for a while. Add the remaining herbs and chilli, and allow to cook (don't overcook).
At the end, add the mussels and cover with a lid for two minutes or until all the mussels are open (throw away those that don't).
Add crumbled feta on top and bake in the oven at 200°C for three minutes. Serve with toasted bread.

• Food and Dining