Warm Sheep's Milk Feta with Apricot Tapenade
Erez Komarovsky's Galilee Cooking School - Matat
In this lovely Mediterranean dish, Israeli chef Erez Komarovsky makes a delightfully sweet-and-salty pairing with sheep's milk feta and apricots.
Ingredients
- 3 small apricots, halved and pitted
- 1 1/2 cups dried apricots, coarsely chopped
- 3/4 cup olive oil, plus more as needed
- Thyme leaves to taste
- One 16-ounce piece feta cheese (preferably sheep’s milk)
- 1 cup pitted olives
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1/2 cup shelled unsalted pistachios, toasted and chopped
- Crushed white pepper to taste
Method
Preheat the oven to 200ºF. Roast the apricots for about an hour, until somewhat dry and their edges are caramelized. Remove from the oven and tent with foil to keep warm.
While the apricots are roasting, make the apricot tapenade: place the dried apricots in a food processor. Slowly pour in the olive oil and process until a thick paste forms. Stir in the thyme leaves. Refrigerate until needed.
Increase the oven temperature to 450ºF. Place the feta cheese on a lightly greased baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes, until the cheese is brown on the edges.
Cut the cheese into thick slices and place on serving plates. Spread the dried apricot tapenade on top of the cheese. Add a few olives and a warm apricot half to each plate. Finish with honey, olive oil, and chopped pistachios.
Yield
6 servings
