Baked Feta with Roasted Tomatoes
This really is a no recipe, recipe. I’m guessing you probably don’t need me to tell you how to chop some mini tomatoes in half, drizzle some olive oil and plonk a block of feta on the top and bake to give you an incredibly delicious-somehow tastes way more complicated than it is-easy lunch, do you? No, I didn’t think so.
So whilst this might not be a ground breaking “recipe” it can hopefully provide a little inspiration for tomorrow’s lunch time. Lunch seems to be one of the meals where we get stuck in a permanent rut - sandwich, salad, leftovers - so I’m treating this post as less of a recipe and more of a nudge to remind you that if you have some tomatoes and a block of feta, good things await you and it’s not another sandwich.
shop the look
a quick spot of entertaining
I love impromptu entertaining and even when it’s planned, I don’t like to fuss. This is the sort of lunch I would serve for a friend dropping over, as I know it can be easily pulled together last minute without running around to a million shops and it feels a bit more special than a cheese and pickle sandwich.
Throw a tablecloth on the table, put out some placemats and a nice linen napkin and you have yourself a lovely lunch for two with minimal fuss.
baked feta with roasted tomatoes
Serves 1
1/2 block feta (I like the convenience of the Lemnos brand of feta that is packaged in two individually sealed half blocks)
1/2 punnet of mini Roma tomatoes
splash of extra virgin olive oil
cracked black pepper (to taste)
1 tsp dried oregano, plus an extra sprinkle
Spinach Side Salad
Fresh spinach (I adore the locally grown spinach sold at Little Farms)
Toasted pumpkin seeds
Dash of extra virgin olive oil and red wine vinegar
Method
Heat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Chop the tomatoes in half and put in a small ovenproof dish (keep it cosy - you want the tommies roasting close together. If cooking for more than yourself, give each person their own small ovenproof dish). Splash in some olive oil to coat, add some cracked pepper and 1 teaspoon of dried oregano. Give it a quick stir so that everything is evenly coated. Pat dry your feta block and place on top of the tomatoes. Drizzle a little olive oil on the feta and rub in with your fingers. Give the feta a crack of pepper and a sprinkle of dried oregano and pop it in the oven. After about 15 mins take a look and see how it’s doing. It’s ready whenever you say it’s ready. I like to cook the tomatoes down and caramelise them quite a lot, but if you don’t have much time, 15 mins might be good enough. This isn’t an exact science. You’re looking for melty soft oozy tomatoes and a golden colour to the feta.
While the tommies and feta are doing their thing, rinse, drain and finely chop your spinach. Add to a bowl. Give it a dash of olive oil and a splash of red wine vinegar and mix to combine. Sprinkle some toasted pumpkin seeds over the top.
Fetch the tomatoes and feta out of the oven and transfer to the (beautifully laid) table. I like to pile the spinach on top of the feta in the ovenproof dish and eat it all together but each to their own. Maybe you’d like to keep the spinach on the side and be dainty about it. I’m not going to judge.
Tip: don’t add any salt to the tomatoes or the salad. The feta is so salty - even more so when it’s cooked, so leave the salt for another time and just season with pepper.
