Creamy whipped feta topped with juicy roasted cherry tomatoes, all mopped up with crispy toasted baguette!
If you’re looking for a really simple yet totally delicious appetiser or starter that requires minimal effort, you’ve landed in the right place. Follow me…
Roasted Tomatoes
This recipe is split into 3 sections: the tomatoes, the feta and the bread. First things first, let’s quickly go over what’s going on with the roasted tomatoes.
- Tomatoes – We’ll be using cherry tomatoes (can sub baby plum tomatoes).
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil – This is used to roast the tomatoes and keep them nice and juicy.
- Red Wine Vinegar – This adds a gentle boost of flavour and pairs beautifully with both the tomatoes and the feta.
- Garlic – Where there’s roasted tomatoes, there’s gotta be garlic (it’s just the rules). Because the tomatoes leak out their juices pretty quickly, the garlic will be protected and won’t burn.
- Thyme – This is an awesome roasting herb and pairs perfectly with the tomatoes and feta.
- S&P – Season well, but remember they’re going on a bed of salty feta.
Whipped Feta
Now this is the type of thing you could eat with a spoon. In all seriousness, this makes the perfect bed for those roasted tomatoes; you get that gorgeous sweet/salty balance. Better still, you only need 4 ingredients!
- Feta – Creamier varieties will blend more easily, but even if you can only get crumbly feta, it’ll still whip just fine. Just make sure it’s not low-fat (typically firmer).
- Cream Cheese – This is an absolute game-changer! Whipped feta by its own is pretty intense; the cream cheese mellows it out and makes it extra creamy.
- Honey – Feta + honey is a match made in heaven, so I like to add a dash to balance out the saltiness.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil – This gives the feta a lovely, silky texture.
Roasting the tomatoes
I like to slice a few of the larger ones in half so they leak out their juices as they bake. In fact, you’ll be left with a good amount of juice in the dish after the tomatoes have baked – this is liquid gold, so don’t waste it! You just want to roast the tomatoes until they just start to wilt. Don’t go overboard to the point it’s only tomato skin and juice left in the dish!
Whipping the feta
This really is as simple as popping everything in a food processor and blending until smooth. You might need to stop and scrape down the sides a couple of times. Just don’t overblend the feta as it can turn watery!
Process shots: add oil, vinegar, seasoning, garlic & thyme to baking dish (photo 1), whisk then toss in tomatoes and bake (photo 2), add whipped feta ingredients to food processor (photo 3), blend until smooth (photo 4).
Toasted Baguette
Right, we’ve got the feta and we’ve got the tomatoes – now we need a dunking tool. For this recipe, I’m using a toasted baguette. You could just slice up some crusty bread, but I like to toast it, just to give more of a crispy contrast to the soft feta and tomatoes. To toast the bread, I typically do 1 of 2 things:
- Slice the bread, brush with oil and toast both sides under the grill/broiler. This is a great option if there’s a lot of bread, because you can do it all in one go.
- Slice the bread, brush with oil, then toast both sides in a scorching hot pan. This is a great option to get some nice grill marks (a little char = extra flavour).
To shoot this recipe, I opted for the griddle pan.
Process shots: slice bread (photo 1), brush with oil (photo 2), add to hot pan (photo 3), toast both sides (photo 4).
Serving Whipped Feta & Roasted Tomatoes
Grab yourself a suitably-sized dish and spread over the feta, making sure there’s a large dip in the centre for the tomatoes. I like to let the tomatoes cool a little before plonking them on the feta, just so they don’t melt and go too grainy. From there, you can drizzle over some of the excess juices, then dive in and enjoy!
For another whipped feta recipe check out my Greek Roasted Potatoes and Whipped Feta!
For another similar dish check out my Tomato Burrata Salad!
Alrighty, let’s tuck into the full recipe for this whipped feta with roasted tomatoes shall we?!
How to make Whipped Feta with Roasted Tomatoes (Full Recipe & Video)
Whipped Feta with Roasted Tomatoes
Equipment
- Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
- Small Baking Dish (for roasting tomatoes)
- Food Processor (for whipping feta)
- Pan or Large Tray (for toasting baguette)
- Brush
- Serving Dish
Ingredients
Tomatoes
- 300g / 10.5oz Cherry Tomatoes (see notes)
- 1 1/2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1/2 tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
- 2 cloves of Garlic, finely diced
- 1 tsp Fresh Thyme Leaves (3-4 sprigs)
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1/8 tsp Black Pepper
Feta
- 200g / 7oz full-fat Greek Feta (see notes)
- 100g / 3.5oz full-fat Cream Cheese
- 1 1/2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 tsp Honey
To Serve
- 1 small Baguette, sliced
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil, as needed
Instructions
- Tomatoes: Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. In a small baking dish, whisk together the oil, vinegar, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper. Toss in the tomatoes then roast for 12-15 minutes, or until they begin to wilt/burst with the juice starting to leak out. Let them cool for a few mins before adding to the feta.
- Feta: Add the whipped feta ingredients to a food processor and pulse until smooth and creamy. You can add a dash more oil to thin it out if needed. Don't over-whip the feta because it can start to get runny.
- Bread: Lightly brush both sides of the sliced baguette with oil. From there, you can either toast both sides under the grill/broiler until crisp, or in a scorching hot dry pan.
- Serving: Spread the feta over a suitably-sized serving dish, making sure there's a large dip in the middle. Spoon over the tomatoes, then drizzle over any excess juice. Dive in with the toasted baguette and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Your Private Notes:
Nutrition
Looking for more?
You’ll find plenty more delicious comfort food like this in my Debut Cookbook ‘Comfy’