Feta Olive Pesto Spread

We're about to embark on that time of year when snowflakes fall on nose and eyelashes, bells jingle, and family and friends come home for the holidays! All of this means more parties, get togethers and nights filled with the angst of trying to decide what to feed all of these people!

This spreadable feta-olive pesto spread is perfect - if you take some shortcuts, it's super easy and fast to put together and if you take the long way it's still not that hard. It will definitely impress your guests if you serve it like we did - in individual serving cups (sake cups) with little bread sticks!

I use Macedonian feta - it is soft, creamy and mild tasting.When I'm not interested in making it from scratch, I head to my local Greek grocery store and buy some of their delicious olive pesto. I only need about 2 tablespoons of olive pesto per cup of feta. I throw the pesto and feta in a food processor and pulse until it comes together. If you don't like olives you could add traditional pesto instead. A mild goat cheese would work too!

If you want to make it from scratch, you can make the pesto ahead of time. It's also good on pasta!

Olive Pesto

Ingredients

1 tbsp sundried tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tbsp pine nuts, toasted
1/2 c kalamata olives, no pits

Instructions

1. Add tomatoes, cheese, garlic and pine nuts to food processor. Pulse until combined but chunky.
2. Add olives and olive oil.
3. Pulse until combined. You want it to have texture - that is, not too smooth.

Refrigerate.

Feta-olive pesto spread

Ingredients

1 c Macedonian feta
2 tbsp olive pesto

Instructions

Combine and pulse feta and pesto until combined.

Watermelon Salad

Vancouver had its first day of sunshine and spring-like weather this week and even though it's chilly today, I'm ready for a new season, new garden and new things to plant. The kids want to plant watermelons this year - though not sure we could pull it off with our short summers. I'm leaning more towards squash, tomatoes, beans, carrots and maybe a few beets. But since I had watermelon on the brain, we made this great salad. The saltiness of the olives goes really well with the sweet watermelon and creamy feta (we used Macedonian feta). I topped it with a store bought balsamic glaze - but you could make your own by reducing a bottle of balsamic vinegar.


Makes 4 side salads

Ingredients

1 mini-watermelon or 3 cups, cubed or scooped out with melon baller
1 cup yellow tomatoes (cherry tomato sized), halved
1/2 cup feta, crumbled or cut into cubes
1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives, chopped
handful of chopped basil
2-3 tbsp balsamic reduction

Instructions

Lightly combine all fruit, veggies and feta in serving bowl(s). Drizzle with balsamic reduction.
Serve immediately.

Low Fat Greek Salad

Greek salad is one of my favourite meals especially during spring and summer. I love the crispiness of the veggies and the colours! I don't like many bottled dressings though so I often make my own oil/vinegar dressing. In this recipe though I use only reduced balsamic vinegar and lemon juice. By reducing the vinegar it becomes syrupy and much sweeter. I find that I don't need the olive oil - which is great if you are watching your calorie intake (and I would rather give up the oil than the feta!).

Serves 2.

Ingredients

2 large tomatoes, diced
1 cucumber, diced
1/3 c kalamata olives, pits removed and roughly chopped
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1 carrot, grated
1 large bunch of fresh basil
3/4 c feta cheese (I use one that comes already cubed)
1 lemon, juiced
1/4-1/3 cup reduced balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Lightly toss all of the vegetables, olives, basil and feta together.
2. Divide between plates.
3. Drizzle vinegar and lemon juice on each plate.
4. Salt and pepper as desired.

How to reduce vinegar:

• Place two cups of balsamic vinegar in a heavy bottom sauce pan over medium heat.
• Bring to a simmer (not a full boil) and watch carefully for 20 or minutes.
• I usually reduce it by half but it's totally up to you. Taste it every 5-10 minutes to see how it tastes.
• Store in the fridge.

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Grilled Vegetable & Feta Salad





Throw everything in a bowl - how easy is that!

Grilled Veggie Salad - so healthy and delicious.

Fresh asparagus - a sure sign of spring!

A little salt, pepper and oil and we're ready to go!

Beautifully Charred.

I wanted to serve a healthy salad one night to go with an ahi tuna dish but didn't feel like running out for lettuce and I wanted to prepare it ahead of time. Luckily, I had a bunch of different veggies - peppers, asparagus, beets - that were perfect for grilling. And since grilling brings out a natural sweetness in the vegetables little dressing was needed. I added some creamy feta and, as crazy as it sounds, some pickled ginger to it and it was amazing! You can substitute any other grilling veggie that you have on hand - squash, zucchini, cauliflower, sweet potato etc.


Serves 6 as a side dish
Ingredients

6 sweet peppers
2 large beetd
2 bunches asparagus
2 ounces feta
2 small purple top turnips
1 avocado
2 tbsp pickled ginger, chopped (optional)
extra virgin olive oil
squeeze of a lemon
salt
pepper


What to do

• Preheat oven to broil.
• Take washed bell peppers, cut in quarters lengthwise and cutout white veins and seeds. Place on baking sheet (outside skin of pepper facing up) and squish down so peppers are same height.
• Season with salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper.
• Brush tops of peppers with a good quality olive oil (or just pour it on like I do).
• Broil until skin blisters and peppers soften (5-10 minutes depending on grill). I like to basically charr the top skin.
• Remove from oven and place in bowl.
• Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place to the side so they rest. The peppers will steam inside the bowl which will loosen the charred skin, making it easier to remove them later.)
• Wash asparagus and cut ends a couple of inches if needed.
• Place asparagus in a single layer on pan and again sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss in some oil.
• Broil 3 minutes until one side is starting to char slightly and then carefully turn the asparagus so you can grill the other side.
• Remove from oven.
• Reduce heat to 375 degrees F.
• Peel beets and turnips.
• Cut into small half inch pieces and place on pan.
• Salt, pepper and oil them.
• Roast until tender, about 20-30 minutes.
• Chop asparagus into one inch pieces.
• Remove peppers from bowl and carefully remove charred skins.
• Cut peppers into one inch pieces.
• Skin avocado, remove pit and dice into one inch chunks.
• In a large serving bowl, throw in all vegetables including any juices from the pans.
• Add feta, pickled ginger and add a squeeze of lemon.
• Season if required.
• Enjoy!