Feta cheese, marinated with lemon and herbs in olive oil, a little rock salt and some black peppercorns...soft, creamy and delicious!
A jar of delicious marinated feta.
I adore marinated feta. I love the beautiful array of flavours ~ herbs, chilli, lemon, garlic, sun-dried tomato, capers, olive ~ that surround the cheese and infuse into the oil. I love its versatility; crumbled in a salad, melted within a breakfast omelette, topping a slice of fresh bread spread with chunky avocado (Aren't avocado and feta a match made in heaven?) or a piece just popped into one's mouth on the way past the fridge. Sigh!
Marinated feta can be expensive to buy but it's so easy and quick to make at home. There are so many different combinations for delicious marinades but I made mine, for the feta I bought at a deli, with fresh herbs from my garden and the zest of an organic lemon.
Feta with the lemon, rosemary, thyme, salt & peppercorns that will flavour the olive oil.
Layer cubes of the feta with herbs, lemon zest, salt & pepper in a clean glass jar.
(I put a glug of olive oil in the bottom before I put the first layer of feta in.)
Continue making layers of feta, herbs, lemon & seasoning then cover completely with oil.
(I used extra virgin olive oil.)
Seal jars and place them in the fridge. Leave overnight for the flavours to develop.
(Eat within use by date of your feta...but mine never lasts that long!)
If you'd like to make your own marinades for feta cheese, here are some flavourful links:
Herb mix for marinated feta that features dried herbs
When every last cube of feta has been enjoyed, you can use the fragrant oil to make a salad dressing. Just whisk some of the fragrant oil with a little lemon juice, a touch of mustard, a little honey or sugar and maybe an extra twist of salt and pepper.
If you love feta and you haven't made your own marinade for it before, I hope you'll try it. The flavours are simply divine!
Meg
p.s. A jar of marinated feta makes a very delicious gift too!
I haven't made marinated feta in ages, so much cheaper and nicer than the bought stuff, and you can switch the herbs and spices around to suit everyones taste.
ReplyDeleteThere's lots of advantages to making your own feta, Pip. There's all the beautiful herbs that you can use from your own garden but you can also use dried herbs and it's just as delicious. It's definitely cheaper! And I like that I can make it up in reusable glass jars meaning I can forgo the plastic tubs marinated feta is typically sold in. Many reasons to marinate one's own feta! Meg:)
DeleteMmmm, feta, how I love thee. And it's even better like this, thanks for such a wonderful idea. Have a lovely week.
ReplyDeleteFi
Marinated feta is the best, Fi! I hope you have a lovely week too. Meg:)
DeleteMeg, I only found out last year that my husband didn't like feta cheese. Obviously I had never bought it before. LOL! I quite like it though and the marinated feta looks delicious.
ReplyDeleteYou'll have to make yourself some marinated feta, Chel. It's lovely! If your husband doesn't like it, that means all the more for you! Meg;)
DeleteOoh, you have inspired me to try this again. I buy feta by the bucketful, in brine, which is very economical, but as you say, just not as yummy as the marinated version. Do you find that the olive oil goes cloudy and thick in the fridge though? I have found that sunflower oil stays clearer, or is that just me?
ReplyDeleteI love your flavour combination - I am definitely going to try that. I often use rosemary and peppercorns, but I hadn't thought to use lemon, yum:)
Yes, the olive oil can go cloudy and thicken but I find just sitting it out on bench for a little while, before I use it, fixes that. Sunflower oil does stay clearer but olive oil is a healthier oil I think. Meg:)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing this Meg. I adore feta cheese and am thinking i need to try this! I would think that the oil, especially if it gets cloudy, would just mean that it is being flavored itself with the feta cheese and if strained, would make a lovely salad dressing. :)
ReplyDeleteHi Debbie. I think you'll love marinated feta:) If you have some herbs growing in your garden, you can add those in to flavour the oil. The infused oil then makes a lovely salad dressing. Meg:)
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