Grilled Feta

I wanted to make grilled halloumi but couldn't find any, so I bought some feta and found that you can grill it as long as it's in a little tinfoil packet. This is a great appetizer or accompaniment to a light dinner of Greek salad and chicken souvlaki. You can really add in whatever you want for seasoning. I kept it pretty simple with grape tomatoes, herbs de provence, lemon, and garlic, but you could add cooked tomatoes, capers, chilies, olives... The cheese gets hot and melty and it's super tasty, and couldn't be easier.

Tomato, Watermelon, and Feta Salad

I had tomatoes and watermelon and thought they would make a great, light summer salad with a little feta to add saltiness and some dukkah for some extra flavor. This was super refreshing and light and would be perfect for a hot weather lunch.

Ingredients:

Ripe tomatoes, thinly sliced

watermelon, rind removed and thinly sliced

red wine vinegar

balsamic reduction

olive oil

salt

feta

dukkah*

Roasted red pepper and feta dip

Jamie and I ordered this at one of my favorite restaurants on Ios (Old Byron's) and I finally recreated it - to the best of my ability. It's so tasty, and not a dip you really see. Plus it's easy to whip up. We ate it with some grilled ciabatta bread. I'm definitely going to make it again next time I have people over - much more interesting than the usual suspects with crudités.

Ingredients:
2 red bell peppers
half a block of feta
1 glove garlic (chopped)
quarter of a lemon
pinch red pepper flakes
olive oil

Directions
Put the two red peppers under the broiler and turn them when until they are charred all around. Put the peppers in a bowl, cover with saran wrap, and let sit for 10 minutes. Then peel off the skin (they steam in the bowl, separating the skin from the meat of the pepper). If you're pressed for time, you can use store bought roasted red peppers.

Place the feta, peppers, and garlic in a food processor and grind, adding between 1 and 2 tablespoons of olive oil as needed. Squeeze in the lemon to taste and add the red pepper flakes, pulse, then salt and pepper to taste.

 For the bread, slice some ciabatta in half, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle salt and pepper, and throw on the grill or under the broiler. Extra tasty if once it's toasted you rub it with a clove of garlic.