Whipped Feta and Cherries on Toast.
Less of a recipe, more of a feeling for summer lunchtimes. Plus plenty of topping ideas!
This month on ingredient we’re focusing on feta: which is, put simply, the perfect cheese for summer.
You can already find my recipe for one of my favourite recipes I’ve shared in ages, my Melting Courgette and Chickpea Salad which so many of you have told me you’ve been gathering the ingredients for (please send me photos of your creations!) here. Still to come will still be either a Greek-style bean number or a feta-centric burger. Or both. I’m still very much in mood-based summer cooking!
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Part of me feels like something of a fraud posting a recipe for something that seems so simple, but I think the very best of summer cooking is the art of assembling the very best ingredients in a way that really shows them off to their full advantage, so we’re going to keep rolling with this Whipped Feta and Cherries on Toast assemble for our lunch today.
Whilst the cherries are undoubtedly the star here, it’s the feta, whipped with Greek yogurt in a slightly thicker, more lemony way than I opt for when I’m making a whipped feta salad or dip, that pulls local cherries and excellent sourdough together into ingredients that work really, really well together.
There are also so many things you can pile onto whipped feta-topped sourdough once you’ve made the basic recipe:
I had sliced Sungold cherry tomatoes right off the vine on whipped feta toast for breakfast this morning.
Sticking to the tomato theme, confit tomatoes, slow roast tomatoes (aka my harissa roasted tomatoes), and sundried tomatoes from the jar are all game here. You know how much I love the smoked Isle of Wight Tomatoes ones!
Speaking of things from the jar, any charred and roasted peppers, aubergine etc. packed in good oil would make good toppings.
Courgette is king at the moment, and the courgettes slow cooked with olive oil and garlic from my Melting Courgette & Chickpea Salad would be great piled onto feta toast rather than having chickpeas or hot pasta stirred through them.
Pretty much all stone fruit is at it’s best right now. Peaches, nectarines and plums also work really, really well with whipped feta.
But, let us return to this assembly. At it’s base we’ve got a fat sliced of toasted Gilda Sourdough. I’d never buy another local loaf after trying this one for it’s great flavour, chew, and the fact I can eat the loaf all week without it becoming too hard to handle.
Next, of course we have the whipped feta. Odysea’s 100% sheep feta is my favourite, and you want to whip it as we’ll be spreading it on toast with the thickest Greek yogurt you can find. This is super important as we’ll be adding more liquid with fresh lemon juice. Low fat versions won’t be thick enough, and look for a Greek brand that’s been imported for a deli rather than one packaged for the domestic market if at all possible: for a barbecued pork / cheats pitta / tzatziki number that should be uploaded to their website any day now I used an incredibly rich and thick one from Macknade which was perfect here also. It was so rich and thick it almost tasted cheesy: if you think your yogurt might be on the thin side, you can always strain it in cheesecloth for an hour or so to remove extra moisture.
Local Kent cherries, plump, sweet and which will stain your fingers an inky red as you pit them were obviously my choice for topping: buy the most local fruit you can and you’ll never go wrong.
Then, to finish a good grassy drizzle of Pomora Extra Virgin Olive Oil (they gifted me a subscription years ago and I’m still evangelical about the oils they send me) and a scattering of fresh mint, which I think is the only herb that works with any choice of feta toast topping. Cracked black pepper is both cherries, and stone fruit in general’s savoury best friend as a flavour enhancer.
Whipped Feta and Cherries on Toast
Serves: 2, Preparation time: 10 minutes
Feel free to scale up the amount of whipped feta to have some ready in the fridge for future toasts: if you’re working with freshly opened feta (it does not last well out of the pack / it’s brine) it should be good for about three days.
Obviously the weight of cherries I’ve given is a guide: it will depend on the size of your cherries, and your toast: I’ve just learned the internet loves weights for things in recipes even if they’re not the most logical measurement to use, so these days I just roll with it. Oh, and whilst we’re on the topic of sizes, this recipe would also make great mini crostini to serve with drinks before lunch / dinner for guests.