Whipped feta with confit tomatoes recipe by Ravinder Bhogal

A plate of whipped feta topped with tomatoes and a side of bread — (Image credit: Kristin Perers)

Salty and sweet, this summery dish is the perfect topping for hunks of grilled bread, said Ravinder Bhogal. Or you could leave out the whipped feta element, and serve the tomatoes with pasta or gnocchi. Serves four.

Ingredients

400g mixed cherry tomatoes
5 garlic cloves, peeled and bruised
3 thin strips of lemon peel
½ tsp caster sugar
1 tsp coriander seeds
¼ tsp dried chilli flakes
4 sprigs of oregano
60ml extra-virgin olive oil
sea salt and black pepper

For the whipped feta:

200g good-quality feta cheese
juice of ½ lemon
100g thick Greek yoghurt

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4.
Cut some of the larger tomatoes in half and leave some whole, and place in a roasting tin along with the garlic and lemon peel. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle over the caster sugar, coriander seeds, chilli flakes and oregano and then drizzle over the oil.
Bake for 40 mins until the tomatoes are bursting and fragrant. Cook down slightly, then discard the garlic and lemon peel.
In the meantime, put the feta cheese into a processor with the lemon juice and whizz until smooth and creamy. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the yogurt.
Put the whipped feta in a serving bowl and top with the warm tomatoes. Serve with slices of toasted sourdough bread.

Taken from “Comfort and Joy: Irresistible Pleasures from a Vegetarian Kitchen” by Ravinder Bhogal, published by Bloomsbury at £26. To buy from The Week Bookshop for £20.99, visit theweekbookshop.co.uk.