This Roast Pumpkin, Barley & Walnut Salad is a great salad for winter when you can serve it slightly warm for a very satisfying light meal or to accompany a main dish. I make it after I have made Lemon Barley Water Cordial and have the cooked pearl barley left over. I freeze the pearl barley in approx 1 cup quantities ready to use in salads, soups and stews. 1 cup cooked pearl barley* 400g pumpkin Olive oil Large handful of parsley 100g feta 1/3 cup walnuts Lemon Dressing 3 tbsp … [Read more...]
Eggplant with Pumpkin & Feta Recipe
I've shared some of my other eggplant recipes in previous posts, but this Eggplant with Pumpkin & Feta recipe has to be my all time favourite. It is a perfect to serve as a vegetarian dish: it has the softness of the eggplant and pumpkin contrasting with the crunch of the hazelnuts, and the spiciness of the cumin, coriander and garlic contrasting with the saltiness of the feta. 4 medium eggplants, halved Coarse cooking salt 1/4 cup olive oil 200g pumpkin, finely chopped 1 small onion, … [Read more...]
Strawberry & Feta Salad
A glorious salad with strawberries, feta, cashews, cucumber and greens, drizzled with avocado oil. Suitably festive-looking that you could serve it on Christmas Day. Lettuce, spinach or any combination of salad greens you like Strawberries (preferably fresh from the garden) Feta (preferably home-made) Cucumber (preferably fresh from the garden) Cashews Avocado or Olive Oil Spread salad greens in a dish. Top with strawberries, feta, cucumber and cashews. Drizzle with … [Read more...]
Zucchini, Feta and Herb Fritters
Mid summer is a time of abundance in the veggie garden and this year zucchini (also known as courgettes) are extremely prolific in mine. Finding new ways of using and preserving them is essential. I've given them to friends and neighbours, frozen them both grated and in pieces, and made relish. I've grilled them, stuffed the flowers, made ratatouille and even a zucchini loaf. This fritter recipe is a nice option and you can use frozen grated zucchini to make them at other times of year … [Read more...]
Marinated Feta
After my first attempt at making feta, I was inspired to try marinating it to see what different flavours I could get. Also not everyone likes the saltiness of brined feta so I was interested to see whether preserving it in oil would reduce the saltiness. Many people like to use olive oil for the flavour it gives, but olive can congeal in the fridge so I find that it is better to use an oil like canola that doesn't have that issue unless you plan to eat it fairly soon. Canola oil is also … [Read more...]
Making Feta Cheese
In an earlier post I described the cheese making kit I had got from Mad Millie. My second foray into cheese making was a feta cheese. Feta is great crumbled over salads or dishes like risotto. This is also an easy cheese to make but is a completely different process from the ricotta I tried first. The milk is heated to 37C before a starter culture is added with rennet and calcium chloride and then left to set in a water bath. The curds are cut and gently stirred before scooping them into … [Read more...]
Roasties with spinach, feta and sundried tomato dip
These delicious roasted vegetables can be served as a meal by themselves. Root vegetables of your choice (e.g. potato, kumara, carrot) Frozen Spinach, Silver beet or Rainbow Chard balls (see Freezing Vegetables) Sundried tomato, cashew and parmesan dip (or any other similar dip) For a variation I sometimes use Basil Pesto Feta, cut into cubes (optional) Prepare root vegetables into fairly small pieces (about 2cm). I use enough to fill the roasting pan in a single layer. … [Read more...]