feta – Audrey's 74

Roasted Tomatoes with Arugula, Feta and Pinenuts

Giulia Doyle — Sun, 16 Aug 2015 16:20:56 +0000

Have you started harvesting any tomatoes yet? Or is your grocery store filled to the brim with local fruit? This is the time of the year to indulge in them before they turn bland and just accompany a sandwich for colour.

I like to keep things simple in the summer and with good quality ingredients there isn’t much fussing needed. Just a hot BBQ, some fresh produce, good quality feta and a sprinkle of pine nuts. People loved this salad at our Midsummer Party earlier this year. It’s the perfect accompaniment for your grilled burgers or sausages.

Roasted Tomatoes with Arugula, Feta and Pinenuts

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

2 cups of cherry tomatoes
1 cup of arugula
1 cup of baby spinach
1/3 cup of cubed feta
3 tablespoons of pine nuts
handful of torn basil (optional)
salt and pepper
olive oil
lemon juice

Instructions

Heat BBQ and place tomatoes in a heat safe grilling pan. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Roast in BBQ until skins start blistering, about 10 minutes. Take off heat.
In the meantime, arrange arugula an spinach on a platter, top with tomatoes, sprinkle with feta, pine nuts and basil. Season with salt and pepper, drizzle with a little more oil and a good squeeze of lemon juice. Serve immediately.

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Chickpea, Carrot and Feta Fritters

Giulia Doyle — Mon, 24 Mar 2014 10:01:59 +0000

I first found this recipe in the Donna Hay cookbook. Simple to make and pretty healthy, except for the frying part. Over the years I adapted them slightly and this version works well with my son, who refuses to eat vegetables or legumes. A perfect way to sneak in something nutritious. If you mash the chickpeas by hand and add grated carrots, this will come together much faster and will have a chunkier texture (but the visible carrots would be a no-go in our house). I think you might be hard pressed to stop at one – they are a great combination of sweet and nutty with a little tanginess from the feta and yoghurt.

Chickpea, Carrot and Feta Fritters

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Yield: Serves 4 generously

Ingredients

2 cans of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 cups of grated carrots
1 cup of chopped parsley (or cilantro if you prefer)
1 cup of firm feta, crumbled or chopped
4 eggs
1/2 cup of flour
2 teaspoons of baking powder
coarse salt and pepper
vegetable oil for frying
lemon wedges and plain yoghurt to serve

Instructions

Place the chickpeas in a food processor and mix until roughly mashed, with a few lumps. Add grated carrots, parsley and feta and mix to combine until you achieve the smoothness you want. If you want to see more of the veggies, don't mix too much.
Remove from food processor, add eggs, flour and baking powder. Mix until well combined. Season generously with salt and pepper.
Heat half an inch of oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Drop large spoonfuls of mixture into the pan and cook, in batches, for 2 minutes each side, or until golden brown.
Drain on paper towel. Serve warm or at room temperature with lemon slices and yoghurt along side a cucumber salad.

Notes

Because I blended my chickpeas and carrots until smooth in a food processor, they are a little delicate to flip in the pan. If you keep the mixture coarser and forgo the food processor, they'll be easier to handle and have some extra crunch.

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Roasted Beets and Carrots with Tahini Lemon Dressing

Giulia Doyle — Mon, 16 Sep 2013 10:05:49 +0000

I received a huge amount of beets over the past couple of weeks in my CSA, and I’m the only one in the family that likes beets. With this slight dilemma I tried to find a way to use a large amount of them in one meal. I decided to roast my beets and serve them with this great dressing inspired by Love and Lemons. I also added a big bunch of carrots to the mix and finished it off with some crumbled feta and sunflower seeds.

This combination turned out beautifully – even my non-beet loving husband had a second serving. We enjoyed it with roast chicken, but any protein would work well with this.

Roasted Beets and Carrots with Tahini Lemon Dressing

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Yield: makes a lot!

Ingredients

6-8 beets (depending on size)
6-8 carrots
6 cloves of garlic
olive oil
handful of sunflower seeds
handful of crumbled feta cheese
4 tablespoons lemon juice
4 tablespoons tahini
2 teaspoons of maple syrup
4-6 tablespoons water or olive oil (or a combination)
salt & pepper, to taste

Instructions

Chop vegetables into even sized pieces. Arrange in roasting pan, add garlic cloves and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast vegetables and garlic at 400F for 1-1.5 hours. Remove from oven and cool slightly. Check that both beets and carrots are soft all the way through.
Combine lemon juice, tahini and maple syrup. Adjust with water and olive oil until you get the consistency you like. Salt and pepper to taste. Toss roasted vegetables with tahini lemon dressing, sprinkle with sunflower seeds and cheese and serve at room temperature.

Notes

You can speed up your roasting time by covering the vegetables with foil and increasing the heat to 450F. You would probably be done in 1 hour depending on the size you cut your vegetables.

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