This month, The Grazer is on fire…
Sitting around our little pot-bellied stove on a winter lunchtime, chatting with a couple of very talented chefs about a guest chef night at Cook House, one of them suddenly looked at the fire and said, ‘you could cook aubergines in there, or leeks…’ and just as fast I was kicking myself that I had never thought to do just that.
I love cooking on a fire. It took someone else to join the dots that day, but I haven’t looked back. This whipped feta – salty cheese whipped up with thick creamy yoghurt and best quality bitter olive oil – is a good vehicle for any number of toppings. It works well with fruit or slow-cooked veg, the salty bitterness of the cheese and oil balancing well with sweetness in the toppings.
I’ve had it on the menu at Cook House in loads of different guises including grilled peach and mint, fresh pear and rocket, blood orange and toasted walnuts, pickled grapes and mint, roast tomatoes and lovage, roast red peppers with rosemary and more. This recipe was one of the first variations I came up with and is still a favourite. Enjoy!
