Sesame Crusted Feta with Honey and Figs

I’ve been lucky to have visited a few of the Greek Islands, but my favourite is probably Crete for the beautiful mountains, beaches, hilltop villages and of course the food. Crete is known to be the island for foodies. In a small taverna, I found heaven when I bit into the sensational fried sesame encrusted saganaki cheese with local honey. The combination of the nutty, crunchy sesame seeds with saltiness of cheese and sweetness of the honey is just sensational. This version is slightly healthier as it is oven baked and using feta which is easier to come by in Singapore.

Serves 4-6 people

INGREDIENTS

1 block of quality feta cheese 200g
1 egg beaten
1 tbsp flour
1 tbsp of sesame seeds
Drizzle of olive oil
Zest of half a lemon and a squeeze of lemon juice
2 tbsp honey to drizzle
A few sprigs thyme
Figs to serve

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 220C. Put the flour, egg and sesame seeds in three separate shallow bowls. Coat the fetta cheese in flour all over, dredge in egg and lastly sesame seeds ensuring all sides are covered. Drizzle a bit of olive oil on a piece of baking paper and sprinkle on some thyme and more olive oil.

Bake on high for about 15-20 mins until sesame seeds look golden brown and crunchy and the cheese is oozing out a bit. Drizzle with honey, lemon zest, squeeze of lemon juice and serve immediately with fresh figs and crusty slices of bread.