sabzi khordan with baked feta
feta roasting technique inspired by Amanda Hesser at Food52
for a vegan version, see my whole roasted cauliflower
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 10 appetizer servings
Ingredients
- 12 oz piece of feta (340g)
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, sliced in half (300g)
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons apricot preserves or honey
- 1 bunch bunch basil, leaves only
- 1 bunch cilantro, leaves and small stems only
- 1 bunch watercress
- 1 small bunch whole chives
- 1 small handful mint leaves
- 3 or 4 radishes, sliced
- flatbread for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (205°C).
- Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Blot the feta dry, and place in the center of the sheet pan. Coat the feta with a little olive oil. Coat the tomato halves in a little more oil, and place them around the feta, cut-side-up.
- Bake the feta and tomatoes for about 5 to 10 minutes, until the feta softens and starts to melt slightly. Remove from the oven and set it to broil. Brush the feta with the honey or apricot preserves (warm the preserves in the microwave for a few seconds if they aren’t thin enough to brush), and place under the broiler for a couple more minutes to brown the top (keep a very close eye on it—it may only take 1-2 minutes, depending on your oven).
- Remove from the oven once it’s warmed through and brown on top. Let it sit at room temperature until the pan is no longer extremely hot, but while the feta is still warm (about 3 minutes). Top the pan with the basil, cilantro, watercress, chives, mint, and radishes. Lightly drizzle the herbs with olive oil. Serve immediately with flatbread, and encourage guests to eat a big heaping pile of herbs with every little bite of feta and tomato.
Notes
Note on cook time: I’ve made this with a few different broilers, and they all work very differently. If your broiler is weak and you leave it in longer to compensate, it will become crumbly, and if you broil it less, it will be gooey and spreadable. Either way is delicious, just different. If your broiler runs cold, you might need to bake it longer to get enough caramelization, or you can pull it out before it caramelizes if you don’t want it to get crumbly. Use your discretion, and don’t sweat it too much. But don’t broil it longer than 5 minutes, even if it’s not caramelizing, or it will dry out too much.
Note on herbs: Feel free to substitute your favorite leafy herbs, like dill, fennel fronds, fenugreek leaves, parsley, scallions, or tarragon.
Find it online: https://cardamomandtea.com/458/sabzi-khordan-with-baked-feta/