Whipped Feta with Honey, Walnuts and Charred Sourdough

• 300 gGreek feta, in brine
• 150 gfull-fat Greek yoghurt
• 1lemon, zest of all and juice of half
• 2 tbspextra virgin olive oil
• black pepper
• 60 gwalnut halves
• 3 tbsprunny honey (Greek thyme honey if you can find it)
• 1 tspfresh thyme leaves, plus a few whole sprigs
• ½ tspdried chilli flakes (Aleppo or regular)
• flaky sea salt
• 1small sourdough loaf (around 400g), or 4 large pittas
• 3 tbspolive oil
• 1garlic clove, halved

Method

1. 1Drain 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. 2Blitz 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. 3Toast 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. 4Get 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. 5Lay 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. 6Pull 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. 7Spread 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. 8Drizzle 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. 9Pile 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.

Per serving

kcal

379

protein

11.7g

fibre

1.5g

carbs

18.4g

fat

29.8g