Better feta

July 22, 2020 ~ Corrie ~ 9 Comments

Feta isn’t just for crumbling over salads, this ewe’s cheese is much more versatile than you may have originally thought. Softly brined, tangy, salty and ever so slightly sour and sweet in flavour, feta can add a welcome depth and texture to a number of dishes. Whipped, baked or even fried, this pleasing block of ‘white gold’ deserves to be centre stage to bring the taste of Greece to your dinner table.

Whipped feta and avocado dip

Whipped feta and avocado dip
Add 100g of feta to a food processor and blitz until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add a handful of fresh mint leaves and blitz again until combined. Add the flesh of a whole avocado along with 2 tbs of extra virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Blitz for a final time until you have a smooth creamy consistency. Serves 2.

Fried feta on toast with honey & thyme

Fried feta on toast with thyme and honey
On a small side plate, add a heaped tbs of flour. Slice 100g of feta into two even slices and dust well in the flour. Beat an egg in a small bowl, season well with salt and pepper and pour onto a plate. Dip the cheese into the egg and cover evenly. In a small frying pan on a medium heat, add a tbs of oil. Once hot, carefully place the cheese in and fry gently on each side for a couple of minutes or until golden. Serve on a piece of toasted sourdough, drizzled in good quality honey and sprinkled with fresh thyme leaves. Serves 1.

Baked Feta

Baked Mediterranean feta
Preheat an oven to 200°C/180°C fan/400F/gas mark 6. Slice 1 red pepper along with half a red onion, 8 cherry tomatoes (halved) and 2 handfuls of black olives (halved). Smooth out 2 large pieces of kitchen foil and divide the chopped red pepper and arrange in the centre of each piece of foil. Season well with salt and pepper. Slice 200g of feta in half and pop each slice on top of the bed of sliced peppers. Top the feta with the onions and the cherry tomatoes (it doesn’t matter if a few fall off, just leave them at the side). Scatter over the olives and sprinkle with dried oregano. Season with salt and pepper before folding up the sides of each parcel and scrunching the top until sealed. Place both on a baking tray. Bake in the oven for 20 mins. Once cooked, carefully remove from the oven and open the parcels up just enough to drain away any excess liquid before sliding onto plates. Serve with warm pita bread and a good drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Jamie’s Feta & Cherry Tomato Rigatoni

Feta and cherry tomato pasta sauce
Half 20 cherry tomatoes and put in a large saucepan with 1tsp olive oil and 1 tsp of oregano. Cook on a medium heat for 5 mins until softened. Add 3 tbs tomato purée, 3 chopped garlic cloves, 1 grated courgette and season with salt and pepper. Cook on a medium to low heat with the lid on for a further 10 mins. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water (follow packet instructions). Drain the pasta and pour straight into the sauce. Stir well before adding the chopped basil and 150g of crumbled feta. Stir again until combined and the cheese begins to melt. Serve topped with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a good crack of pepper.

For more foodie blogs, recipes and course, visit learningwithexperts.com.

Whipped feta & avocado on toast

September 16, 2019February 1, 2020 ~ Corrie ~ 5 Comments

This is a recipe I have stolen from my dearest friend and ex-housemate Isabelle – aka my wife. I lived with her longer than any of my previous boyfriends, so feel she deserves ‘wife’ status. She peeled me off the floor when I was drunk, made me many a jacket potato with cheese and beans and hid a small plastic head amongst my possessions on a weekly, sometimes daily, basis. (See images below.)
Although our marriage had to end after I met a boy and moved in with him, we did have three wonderful years together in a very awful flat in Camden – the day we moved in, we both cried – good times. Anyway, nowadays you can still find me dossing around her new house in my pyjamas, necking wine and eating everything in her cupboards – some things never change. However, she has started making this rather tasty breakfast for me after heavy nights of horror films and Grease 2 singalongs. This whipped feta and avocado on toast is so delicious, I may have to invite her to come live with us again. The more the merrier ,right? Just me, Jamie, Isabelle and ‘the head’ – which is currently in my possession after she planted it on me during my last visit – watch out Isabelle, he’s coming for you…

Whipped feta and avocado on toast
Serves 2 / Hands on time 5 mins / Total time 5 mins / V Gf*
You’ll need: A food processor
1 ripe avocado, skin and stone removed
100g vegetarain feta
2 sprigs of mint, leaves removed
Salt and pepper
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil, extra for drizzling
Toast* to serve

Method
1. Start by adding the feta to a blender and blitzing until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add the mint leaves and blitz again until combined. Add the avocado, extra virgin olive oil and season well with salt and pepper. Blitz again until you have a smooth creamy consistency.
2. Serve immediately spread generously on toast and drizzled with extra virgin olive oil. Breakfast of kings!

If you’ve had a go at making any of my recipes, I’d love to hear from you. Follow me now @corrieheale and tag your recipe pictures using #corriesrabbitfood.

V – Vegetarian. Gf – Gluten free: Serve with gluten-free bread.

Baked tomatoes & feta on toast

June 3, 2019October 31, 2019 ~ Corrie ~ 5 Comments

I went to an insanely overpriced but beautiful health food shop today in Finsbury Park. Sometimes, I like to swish around this shop and pretend I’m a regular customer. I even put three large avocados in my basket knowing they’re £2.50 each without so much as a small grimace on my face – I’m such a good actress. (I quickly put two back without anyone noticing.)
I spend a good 20 minutes picking items off the shelves, pretending to read the labels before returning them to their place – God, I’m having a great time. I eventually reach the counter with a mere five items in my basket all carefully plucked and examined ready for purchase.
“That will be fifteen pounds and twenty nine pence, please,” says the smug man behind the counter with long greasy hair. Shit – he knows! He knows I think this shop is ridiculously overpriced and that I usually shop at Tesco. The bastard! Two can play at this game. I smile sweetly and tap my bank card on the card reader as if I don’t have a care in the world.
I turn to leave, still smiling like a slightly deranged mental patient.
“Would you like a date?” the greasy haired man calls after me. Feeling slightly flattered, but mostly awkward, I turn to say, “Sorry, I have a boyfr….” when I realise he is elbow deep in a giant glass jar of what looks like crusty old turds. My neck is suddenly very hot as I realise my error.
“Err, yes please,” I say quickly, as he drops a large date into my open palm. I take a bite, thinking I can always chuck it away when I get outside, but to my surprise it’s soft, sweet and delicious. I then burst into tears – it’s been a hard month.

Back home, I spread the expensive bread I just bought with the expensive feta and top with baked expensive tomatoes and you know what? When you feel like utter shit, there’s nothing better than glorified cheese on toast to make everything okay again… That and a big juicy date. So weird.

Baked tomatoes & feta on toast
Serves 2 / Hands on time 10 mins / Total time 25 mins / V
Extra virgin olive oil
4 large tomatoes or 6 medium tomatoes on the vine
6 thyme sprigs
100g vegetarian feta
1 small garlic clove, peeled
2 large sliced sourdough bread, toasted
2 poached eggs to serve eggs (optional)

Method
1. Preheat an oven to 220°C/200°C fan/425°F/gas mark 7. Leaving the tomatoes on the vine, place on a non stick baking tray and spear each tomato with a fresh thyme sprig. Drizzle with olive oil and season well with salt and pepper. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
2. Once the tomatoes are baked, turn the oven off and leave the tomatoes inside to keep warm. If you’re poaching eggs, now is a good time to get them on. Toast the bread and rub each slice with a peeled garlic clove. Split the feta between the 2 slices and squish down roughly with the back of a fork.
3. Remove the warm tomatoes from the oven, discard the thyme sprigs and evenly distribute the tomatoes on top of the feta. Press the tomatoes down using the back of a fork releasing some of the juice. Serve immediately drizzled with extra virgin olive oil, a good crack of salt and pepper and top each with a poached egg (optional).

If you’ve had a go at making any of my recipes, I’d love to hear from you. Follow me now @corrieheale and tag your recipe pictures using #corriesrabbitfood.

V – Vegetarian

Courgette feta fritters with cucumber pickle

January 23, 2016February 11, 2020 ~ Corrie ~ Leave a comment

“But I thought you liked roasted vegetables?” Jamie said brandishing a whole bag of courgettes at me.
“Yeah I do.” – I don’t.
“No you don’t I can tell you don’t” He said, getting increasingly upset.
“Well I do, I just don’t like courgettes.”
“What do you mean you don’t like courgettes?! We eat courgettes all the time!”
Jamie’s right, we do eat courgettes all the time but rarely in their natural slimy state – barf. I grate the little buggers to avoid ‘soggy courgette syndrome’. Grated, cooked and tossed in garlicky pasta can make courgettes a very pleasing thing, see my Courgette & Spring Green Lumaconi recipe. But we had pasta yesterday so had to come up with something else. FRITTERS! Oh wait, I’m not a huge fan of fritters either, oh dear… Fuck it, let’s make them away – I haven’t had a fritter for years. Fritters, along with the ‘vegetable stack’ and ‘stuffed peppers’ are a rubbish vegetarian mealtime staple. But I’m going to reinvent this sad starter and make it into a delightful midweek main by cramming them full of feta and serving them with a homemade pickle. Let’s do this.

Courgette feta fritters with cucumber pickle
Serves 2 / Hands on time 30-40 mins / Total time 30-40 mins / V
You’ll need: Large non-stick frying pan, foil, oven-proof plate
Pickled cucumbers
3 tbs white wine vinegar
½ tsp caster sugar
1 garlic clove, crushed or grated
½ red onion, finely sliced
½ cucumber, peeled into ribbons – middles discarded
Fritters
3 spring onions, finely chopped
100g of vegetarian feta, crumbled
2 handful frozen peas
Handful fresh mint leaves, chopped
2 courgettes, grated – middles discarded
½ tsp salt flakes
2 eggs
3 heaped tbs wholemeal flour
Rapeseed oil for frying
Chilli jam to serve (optional)
Lime wedges and zatziki to serve (optional)

Method
1. In a small saucepan, heat the vinegar and sugar together over a medium heat until dissolved. Remove from the heat, add a pinch of salt, garlic, onions and cucumber ribbons – discarding the soft middles. Give it a good mix, ensuring everything is well coated in the pickling mixture. Put to one side.
2. Meanwhile, heat an oven to 70°C/50°C fan/158°F/gas mark 1. Heat a large oven-proof plate.
3. In a large bowl, add the spring onions along with the peas, crumbled feta and fresh mint. Give it a good stir and add the grated courgette – grate the courgettes on all sides, discarding the soft middle and season well with salt and pepper. Give it another mix and start incorporating the flour bit by bit. Add the eggs and beat until combined.
4. Add a tsp to a large non-stick frying pan over a medium to high heat. Once hot, load up a tablespoon with the mixture and carefully drop into the pan before flattening with the back of the spoon. Repeat until you have 3 or 4 fritters fitting comfortably in the pan. Cook for 2 minutes before flipping over with a spatular. Cook for a further 2 mins or until golden brown.
5. Once cooked, transfer the fritters to the hot plate in the oven and continue until you’re out of mixture.
6. Discard the cucumber pickle liquid, shake off any excess and serve with the warm fritters, a dollop of zatziki and a couple of lime wedges.

If you’ve had a go at making any of my recipes, I’d love to hear from you. Follow me now @corrieheale and tag your recipe pictures using #corriesrabbitfood.

V – Vegetarian

Herb & rocket couscous with feta

August 1, 2015February 1, 2020 ~ Corrie ~ Leave a comment

First of all, couscous is nothing like quinoa so stop that! Couscous is semolina granules made from crushed durum wheat. No one knows what quinoa is.
Anyway, I LOVE couscous, especially for lunch so I make this recipe quite a lot. It’s also cheap which is good because I appear to have misplaced all of my money. I swear I used to have some.
Right I won’t bang on, it’s Friday night and we should all be out frolocking and getting jolly drunk. However, I’m the sado who stayed in to write her blog, watch The Office and drink hot chocolate like a reclusive old bint – my evening was actually rather pleasant until I thought the apron hanging up on the kitchen door was a ghost.

Herb & rocket couscous with feta
Serves 4 / Hands on time 20-25 mins / Total time 20-25 mins / V
You’ll need: Food processor, cling film
150g couscous
200ml vegetable stock, I use ½ a Knorr stock pot
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 tsp rapeseed oil
¼ tsp cumin
¼ tsp salt
30g fresh coriander
20g fresh mint leaves
1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
2 handfuls walnut pieces, chopped
3 spring onions, finely chopped
200g vegetarian feta cheese, crumbled
40g rocket
Extra virgin olive oil to serve

Method
1. Measure out the couscous and place in a large bowl. Pour over the vegetable stock and give it a mix with a fork – make sure all the couscous is fully covered. Cover with cling film and put to one side.
2. In a small frying pan, fry the onions in a tsp of oil over a medium to low heat for a few minutes – add a dash of water to help the onions steam. Once a little softened, sprinkle over the cumin and salt. Stir before covering with a lid and leave to sweat on a low heat for 10 mins.
3. Meanwhile, put the coriander (including any stalks) into a food processor, along with the mint leaves (stalks removed). Add 1 tbs of extra virgin olive oil and blitz until you have a rough paste.
4. Remove the cling film from the couscous and start raking the top layer with a fork to loosen the grains. Continue to rake until you have a light fluffy bowl of couscous. Add the herb paste and incorporate into the couscous still using the fork to distribute the herbs evenly.
5. Add the onions, walnuts and the spring onions to the couscous and give it a good mix before incorporating the rocket a handful at a time. Finally crumble in the feta, season well with salt and pepper and serve drizzled with extra virgin olive oil.

If you’ve had a go at making any of my recipes, I’d love to hear from you. Follow me now @corrieheale and tag your recipe pictures using #corriesrabbitfood.

V – Vegetarian