Jamie Magazine
By Jamie Oliver
55 mins
Not Too Tricky
serves 8
About the recipe
This is a great meat-free recipe. Barbecuing a whole block of feta is a really interesting way to use it – you get a wicked texture contrast between the beautifully golden outside and the soft, creamy centre. The smoky flavour adds a subtle but beautiful twist to this delicious summery dish.
Recipe From
Ingredients
½ a bunch of fresh oregano
½ a bunch of fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 red onions
1 large aubergine
150g feta cheese
olive oil
3 courgettes (a mixture of yellow and green)
2 handfuls of mixed tomatoes
1 bulb of garlic
50g shelled pistachios
2 tablespoons runny honey
extra virgin olive oil
TABBOULEH
250g cracked wheat
1 bunch of fresh mint
1 big bunch of fresh flat-leaf parsley
½ a cucumber
1 lemon
Method
- Light your barbecue and give the coals time to get nice and hot.
- Pick the oregano and parsley leaves, peel and slice the onions into wedges, prick the aubergine all over with a fork and halve lengthways.
- Add the feta to a small bowl with half the oregano leaves, a drizzle of olive oil and a good pinch of sea salt and black pepper. Set aside to marinate while you prepare the rest of the dish.
- Next make the tabbouleh. Cook the cracked wheat according to the packet instructions, then rinse and drain. Set it aside to cool a little.
- Pick and finely chop the mint and parsley, then finely chop the cucumber.
- Once the cracked wheat has cooled, mix in the mint, parsley and cucumber, a good squeeze of lemon juice and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Have a taste and tweak the seasoning to your liking, then cover and set aside.
- Once your barbecue is hot enough to start cooking, grill all of the vegetables and the garlic and, once beautifully charred on both sides, transfer them to a chopping board.
- Chop up all the veg together, squeezing the garlic cloves out of their skins and squishing the tomatoes. Roughly chop the parsley and remaining oregano leaves into the vegetables, season and drizzle with olive oil.
- Carefully griddle the whole marinated feta on the barbecue for about 3 minutes (this will depend how hot your barbecue is), or until golden and crispy, then gently turn and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes.
- Toast the pistachios in a small pan over a medium heat until lightly golden, then spoon over the honey and allow the nuts to caramelise, tossing regularly to stop them from catching in the pan (do not be tempted to touch them because they will be very hot!).
- After a couple of minutes, tip them onto a sheet of oiled greaseproof paper to harden and cool, then roughly chop and leave to one side.
- Spoon the tabbouleh onto a large serving dish, then top with the chopped vegetables.
- Place the griddled feta in the centre, drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil and scatter over the crispy smashed pistachios. To serve, crumble the feta over the top. Delicious served with toasted flatbreads.
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