Herby feta cheese on potato rosti isn’t a recipe from any particular country; call it a European fusion that involves Greek feta and Swiss rostis. We’ve added it because it’s a stylishly sophisticated vegetarian recipe with a dazzling mix of flavours which looks très chic and tastes even better than it looks.
We first saw it years ago in a series of vegetarian recipes called ‘posh nosh for less dosh’ which describes it perfectly.
This is a dish guaranteed to impress.
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 35 minutes
Ingredients for Herby Feta Cheese on Golden Potato Rostis (for two people)
Herby Feta Cheese
- 250g block of Feta cut into four equal slabs
- 1 large garlic clove, crushed
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh oregano
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
- 75ml olive oil
- Salt
- Pepper
- 4 sun-dried tomatoes (optional)
- Capers
- Chives to garnish
Golden Potato Rostis
- 1 large (or 2 medium) potato, peeled and grated
- ½ medium onion, grated (a nightmare of a task if you’re like me)
- 1 lightly beaten egg
- 25g plain flour
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
Spicy Jam
- 1 large red onion thinly sliced
- 2 red chillies, de-seeded and finely chopped
- 6 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 50g sugar
- 25g butter
Preparation for Herby Feta Cheese on Golden Potato Rostis
Spicy Jam
- Heat the butter in a saucepan, add onions and cook gently for 5 minutes until soft. Add red wine vinegar and sugar, turn the heat to low and cook for 25 minutes.
- Mix in the chopped red chillies and cook for a further 5 minutes until the mixture is wine coloured with a slightly caramelized texture.
Potato Rostis
- Whilst the sweet and spicy marmalade is cooking, squeeze as much moisture out of the grated potato as possible (it doesn’t matter if it still retains some moisture). Pat dry with kitchen paper and place the potato in a bowl with the grated onion, beaten egg and flour.
- Mix well until all the ingredients are thoroughly combined and separate into four rough balls in the bowl.
- Heat a drizzle of vegetable oil in a frying pan and, using a dessert spoon, place the potato rosti balls in the pan. How many depends on the size of your pan, we only manage two at a time. Flatten the balls with the back of the spoon until they are flat and circular shaped.
- Fry on each side for 3 minutes until golden brown.
- Remove the rostis from the pan, dry on kitchen paper and keep warm in a low oven.
Herby Feta Cheese
- The olive oil and herb dressing can be made in advance of the cooking. Simply add the olive oil, herbs, garlic, thyme and a dash of salt and pepper to a jug and mix.
- Heat the grill and a few minutes before the spicy jam is ready, place the four feta slices on a baking tray and drizzle some of the herby dressing over the top.
- Place under the grill and cook until the cheese is only just beginning to melt. Any longer and it will turn to mush, be difficult to work with and ruin the appearance of the dish.
Place the potato rostis on a plate. Spoon some sweet and spicy marmalade onto them, carefully place a slice of herby feta on top and drizzle the remaining herby dressing over the dish.
For a finishing touch, place a sun-dried tomato on top of each slice of herby feta and casually fling a few capers around to complete the sweet and savoury combination then arrange the chives on top. We have two rostis person for a main meal, or one each as a starter.
Tip: lining the baking tray with aluminium foil makes cleaning up afterwards a little bit easier.
Jack is co-editor, writer and photographer for BuzzTrips and the Real Tenerife series of travel websites as well as a contributor to online travel sites and travel magazines. Follow Jack on Google+
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