Cheese strikes, yet again. I love it when I make something and people love it and rave about it. I especially love it when what I made was simple and easy. I sometimes get insecure about making things that do not take a lot of time for guests. Will they judge me because I made something that took me literally five minutes to make. Me and my hang-ups, difficult to understand for my husband some. I mentioned this before, I like guests to feel welcome and enjoy the experience of coming over, and part of this includes good food.
In Rhode Island, I helped my parents throw a party for their friends. Party planning is something that gives me a high. (On a small scale, large 500 guest parties might cause me to go over the edge, but that’s another story.) The non-stop action and preparations that are required for a party are thrilling as well as terrifying. To ease this extreme range of emotions, it is important to have a few tricks up your sleeve. (Wow, I said a few tricks up your sleeve, am I becoming cliche!?)
Baked Feta definitely qualifies as a crowd pleaser. The night of the party, it was a big hit and was the first starter to be wiped clean. Some people do not love cheese in the same way as I do (my husband grrrr, though I must admit he has come a LONG way). But, even people who do not share in my enthusiasm for cheese enjoy this Baked Feta. Feta is known to have a salty pungency, but the baking process really mellows it out. I use a sheep’s or goat’s milk feta of good quality because I have tried this with average supermarket feta and it does not have the same consistency or smoothness. The sundried tomatoes, and nuts, capers, and thyme ooze together in perfect unison. I also add a drizzle of honey to cut the saltiness and though most could not discern the honey in the baked feta, they could certainly notice its absence if I did not include it. The honey and almonds caramelize together, almost forming a candied crunch on top. Enjoy this with some crusty bread, Greek pita, or crackers.
Baked Feta with Sundried Tomatoes, Almonds, Capers, and Thyme
Serves 6 (as a starter)
Ingredients
10 ounces of food quality Feta, sliced into 1/4″ thickness
1/2 cup sundried tomatoes in oil, julienned
2 tablespoons sliced almonds
2 tablespoons capers, rinsed
10 springs of thyme, left whole
2 tablespoons honey
2-3 tablespoons good quality extra-virgin olive oil
juice of half a lemon
black pepper, to taste
Method
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Use a quiche dish and lay the feta slice son the bottom and assemble the sundried tomatoes, almonds, capers, and thyme on top in an attractive way. Drizzle with the honey, extra-virgin olive oil, and the lemon juice. Add a few cranks of freshly ground pepper over the top. Bake the dish in the oven for about 15 minutes or until bubbly and oozing. Switch the oven to broil for about a minute, stay near the oven because the thyme can burn easily. Remove from the oven and serve hot with warmed Greek pita.
This looks fantastic! Now I wonder, should I spring it this weekend or save it for a party. NAH! I’m making it.
NOM NOM NOM ~Scott
Thanks 🙂 Hope it turns out good!
Nadia Dahling! You covered ALL of my favorite ingredients in this delicious dish! :-))
example: Feta, Sun-dried Tomatoes, Almonds, Capers, and Thyme
Thanks, Sara, glad you liked it!!
yummm i love baked feta, andreas does it great, im sure this one is amazing too
Yum andreas is good too, but they just bake it w/o anything, right?
Nadia your pictures just keep getting better and better, I love it! I especially love the last shot, beautiful work!
Thanks so much, Joy! I don’t think I will reach your level of expertise with my shots, but one can hope!
i eat this pls ❤
come and I’ll make it for you!!!
no they also use oregano and capers
ooooh
nadia i love this …..where can i buy good feta cheese
thanks, Saira, you can get good feta maybe in Jerusalem market or another Middle Eastern Store or even Whole Foods. Another cheese shop is Farmstead in Wayland Sqaure.
summer has arrived at the baigs……. deliyumscrulicious
thanks, Tanssss!
oh god, its really bad idea to look at your blog before dinner !!!
Thanks, Mahaaaaa
Oooh, Nadia, this looks wonderful! I love any warm cheezy dish and this just looks lovely. One thing though… I hate capers. I hate very, very few foods, but capers are one. Do you think it would work wothout the capers? Or might some chopped kalamata olives be good instead?
Hi Katie, Thanks for your comment! Kalamatas sound really good! I used to hate capers too, but now I really enjoy them. Let me know how this comes out with the olives.
Great-looking appetizer, Nadia! I’m putting this in my recipe file. 🙂
Thanks, Sue, tell me how it turns out when you do make it.
Gosh, just gorgeous and I’m sure delectable. Nice work, Nadia.
Off topic for a sec–how did you like “An Education”? I’ve been meaning to see it myself. It played for the longest time near my at an art house theater, but I never made it during its run there.
Thanks so much, Bria! I am no movie critic but, I thought “An Education” was good. I love that era (the 60s) so I usually enjoy movies based in that time period. Is has good performances and a little sense of school-girl whimsy, which I enjoyed. Peter Sarsgaard is also convincing in his role. I loved the scenes in “swinging” London and Paris. It is definitely worth catching on dvd. Let me know how you like it. 🙂
This looks fantastic! I love this appetizer!
Thanks, Cherine!
This looks beautiful. Have you tried it with any other types of cheeses? I am having a craving for brie and those toppings sound like they would be great on brie. Keep up the good work!
Thanks! I have tried it with Brie before and it is fantastic, extra creamy and gooey. You can also put the brie in a puff pastry and bake it with all these ingredients inside and that is extra decadent!