Marinated Feta Or Lebanese Cheese
From jimrug1 16 years ago
- 18 minutes to make
- Serves 8
A great snack to bring out when friends drop over and a must do Meze at a Lebanese gathering. I make up jars of this for Holiday gifts. For years I made a standard Mediterranean recipe. Then I read an article from "America's Test Kitchens" about making marinated cheese. Read more Blind testing showed that the cheese marinated for two weeks did not pick up any more flavor than cheese marinated for 1 or 2 day. After trying dozens of methods. They came up with the recipe below in which the cheese is added to warm oil. It makes an unbelievable world of difference in flavor. See less
Ingredients
- Recipe 1. shopping list
- 8 oz. feta or Lebanese cheese cut into 1/2 inch cubes. shopping list
- 1 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil shopping list
- 1 Large or 2 small shallots Sliced Thin shopping list
- 1 Tbsl. Fresh oregano or mint leaves minced shopping list
- 1 Tsp. lemon zest shopping list
- Pinch of crushed red chile shopping list
- ********************* shopping list
- Variation: shopping list
- Use method below but omit shallot & lemon zest. shopping list
- Substitute: 3 cloves thin sliced garlic shopping list
- 1 Tbls orange zest shopping list
- Add: 1/4 cup chopped green Mediterranean olives shopping list
How to make it
- Heat 1 cup of the oil over low heat.
- Add: Shallots, Lemon Zest, Oregano or Mint, and Crushed Chile
- Cook on low approximately 18 mins. to infuse flavors into oil
- Remove from heat, add Feta or Lebanese Cheese to warm oil.
- Make sure Cheese is submerged but be gentle. The Idea here is to let the cheese soften slightly, absorb the flavors and then harden back up.
- Cover and let the mixture come completely to room temp. 1 1/2 - 2 hrs. Add remaining 1/4 oil to freshen taste. Transfer to a fruit jar or other decorative lidded jar.
- Can be served immediately or tastes even better if left in the fridge for a few days and up to 1 week.
- To Serve: If refrigerated, let come back to room temp. Arrange cheese on a platter. Garnish with Greek olives, chopped scallions, and a few salt cured capers, spoon some of the flavored oil around the platter, sprinkle with fresh mint or oregano leaves and/or crushed red Chile for color.
- Have lots of soft pita and/or small toasted baguettes close by.
- Hint: When the cheese is gone, the oil makes an awesome bread dipping oil or drizzled on greens or raw veggies.
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