January 6, 2021

Marinated Feta (or tofu)

This post is all about missing travel. My last trip before the pandemic was to Spain. My husband and I went for a week to Madrid and Seville. It’s hard to describe the feeling I got when I first stepped foot in the Mercado de San Miguel and all my senses were assaulted by colors, smells, flavors and movements. The market is an universe of delicious bites that blink at you invitingly from their glass display cases; rows and rows of tiny jewels: morsels of cheese, vegetables, meats and fish in various states: pickled, roasted, raw, marinated and fried. Picking just a few is almost impossible. It’s only a few bites, after all!!!

We walked around trying hard to hold on to a glass of rioja with one hand and maneuvering tapas with the other, a kind of food & drink juggle that went on for a while. The place was packed, people sitting at counters eating and drinking, chatting away. It felt carefree, relaxed, happy and extravagant at the same time. Oh, how i miss it!!!

This marinated feta is not Spanish food but it reminded me of the feel and colors of Spain; plus, that’s what I had in the fridge! The dish serves a dual purpose: you’ll get a delicious cheese to top your choice of bread and the leftover liquid will serve as a bright salad dressing later on. Let’s get started!

Serving Size:

8-10

Time:

25 min

Difficulty:

Easy

Ingredients

1 lemon, thinly sliced + juice of another lemon
8-10 hot cherry peppers (I use Peppadew brand but you can use anything you like
300gr feta cheese (or whatever size fits in your container)
1/2 cup good extra virgin olive oil (good quality oil will make all the difference here) + 1 tablespoon
2 bay leaves
Glass container

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400F. Toss the sliced lemon in the 1 tablespoon of olive oil and spread it on a baking sheet. Bake for about 15 min, until the edges of the lemon get slightly browned, charred. The lemon will be soft.
Cut the feta cheese in bite size pieces. Chop the hot cherry peppers. Start layering the cheese, the peppers, the roasted lemon and the bay leaves in the jar. You can also use anything else you’d like in here: thyme leaves, peppercorns, different chilies, crushed garlic…whatever your heart desires.
Pour oil and lemon juice on top; cover tightly and give a little shake so it all combines. Refrigerate for at least 1-2 days. You can spread it on toast, toss it in a salad, top a baked potato.
You can make this with tofu, for you vegans out there: you must use firm tofu that you will press to remove moisture.
The leftover marinating liquid makes the base of a great salad dressing…just add salt and pepper, maybe a crushed garlic clove or a thinly sliced shallot.