Love Feta - straight from the heart

Feta Dip/Spread

So I know I went on about how there are only three sustainable dips in the world and that's all that's needed, but I lied, OK?

I went a bit bananas the other day and bought another 2kg bag of dried chick peas. I didn’t need them: I have at least half a bag in the cupboard but they were right at the back and I didn’t look properly when I was doing my list so didn't see them, and when I go to the Indian shop all aisles lead to pulses so I bought some. And a few months ago Nobby bought a 2kg bag of brown chick peas but they’re not the same and I’m not sure what to do with them. They still have skins on and when they’re soaked they don’t swell up as much as the ordinary ones, and they need more cooking (I tried to make hummus with them but ended up spending a tedious half an hour taking the skins off after they’d been cooked and I got fed up with ‘em so I need to do a bit of research on that one).

There’s something about the pulse aisle that pulls me in and I’m not completely sure for why. It could be that those little peas and beans look totally natural and unmucked about with in their cellophane bags and appeal to my penchant for wholesomeness, or that they’re nutritious and versatile and can be added to bulk out casseroles and soups and stuff (but not omelettes) or possibly that they’re cheap. Who knows? I don’t.

So I started thumbing through the books to see what I could do with six ton of chick peas that wasn’t hummus or balls. I could have gone the Levi Roots tamarind and butternut squash route but I don’t care for squash even when it’s masked with chillies, or the Madhur Jaffrey sour chick peas but they’re more of a side dish than a main, so I hit the interweb and got a bit distracted like you do on food sites and started pressing buttons for all sorts of unrelated categories: vegetables, pasta, rice, filo, chicken gizzards, etc. It’s all a bit of a gamble isn’t it, this web site malarkey: there’s an awful lot of dross but sometimes you hit gold. I stumbled across this cheeky little beggar on greek-recipes.com in the appetizers section. I like this web site – the recipes are simple and the ingredients are easily obtainable, and all the dishes I’ve tried so far taste surprisingly Greek. Well, as Greek as you’re gonna get with local ingredients.

Unfortunately, this does not contain chick peas.

1 x 200gm pack feta cheese cut into small cubes
Chopped basil or mint leaves – about 2 tbsp
Chopped chives – about 1 tbsp
1-2 cloves garlic, crushed
Olive oil

Process basil or mint and chives in food processor until fine. Add feta and garlic until well mixed. Add enough olive oil to make spreadable. Spread on bread, crostini, bruschetta, or little pizzas, dollop on pasta, or add to soups or vegetables.