Whipped Feta with Honey, Walnuts and Charred Sourdough

Ingredients

• 300g Greek feta, in brine
• 150g full-fat Greek yoghurt
• 1 lemon, zest of all and juice of half
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• black pepper
• 60g walnut halves
• 3 tbsp runny honey (Greek thyme honey if you can find it)
• 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves, plus a few whole sprigs
• 1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes (Aleppo or regular)
• flaky sea salt
• 1 small sourdough loaf (around 400g), or 4 large pittas
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, halved

Method

1. Drain the feta and crumble it straight into a food processor — break it up with your fingers so it whips evenly. Add the Greek yoghurt, lemon zest, the juice of half the lemon, the olive oil and a good crack of black pepper. No salt yet; the feta brings plenty.
2. Blitz for a full 2-3 minutes, scraping down the sides twice. You're looking for cloud-soft and properly pale — if it still looks grainy after a minute, keep going. Feta needs longer than you think to break down into something silky. Taste and adjust with more lemon juice if it needs lift.
3. Toast the walnuts in a dry frying pan over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, tossing often, until they smell nutty and the skins darken a shade. Tip onto a board the moment they're done — they'll keep cooking in a hot pan and turn bitter. Roughly chop.
4. Get your BBQ ripping hot or a griddle pan smoking. Slice the sourdough into thick 2cm slabs (don't go thinner — you want chew under the char). Brush both sides generously with olive oil.
5. Lay the bread on the grill and leave it alone for 90 seconds — moving it too early gives you pale stripes instead of proper black bar marks. Flip when the underside has dark, defined lines. Char the second side the same way.
6. Pull the bread off and immediately rub one side of each slice with the cut garlic clove — the hot, rough surface acts like a grater and the garlic melts straight in.
7. Spread the whipped feta across a wide, shallow plate or bowl in thick swooshes — make peaks and valleys with the back of a spoon, because that's where the honey pools.
8. Drizzle the honey generously over the top, letting it run into the dips. Scatter over the toasted walnuts, fresh thyme leaves, chilli flakes and a pinch of flaky salt. Lay a couple of whole thyme sprigs on top.
9. Pile the charred sourdough alongside while it's still warm and bring straight to the table — whipped feta firms up as it sits, so this is best eaten within the hour.