Honey Whipped feta with tomato garlic confit is a delicious summer appetiser that can be made ahead and served with crostini. It sounds fancy and complicated but it so easy to make, especially for crowds.
Since feta is one of those versatile ingredients and a favorite ingredient in salads during the summer. However, you can prepare a number of things with good quality feta cheese. During Summer I always make sure I’m stocked up on feta as I enjoy making dip, salads, and pasta with feta cheese.
I am one of those people who enjoy a sweet and salty combination and adding honey whipped feta to my “to-do list” was a no-brainer.
I prepare my whipped feta with honey because it takes away the sting of the salty cheese. If you’ve ever eaten feta then you’ll know that feta can be very salty and you need a touch of sweetness to balance out the flavor in a whipped feta dip. I use honey quite a lot when cooking and the honey in this recipe just cuts through the saltiness of the feta so effortlessly.
Top tips for making honey whipped feta
The first time I made whipped feta and honey my dip was a bit too runny and I also blended the mixture too much.
- Though both cream cheese and feta are present, the texture can so easily altered when adding too much liquid. I added the juice of half a lemon and too much water. I didn’t mind the consistency being a bit loose but if you want to avoid this, then learn from my mistakes and be careful while adding the water so it doesn’t loosen the mixture too much.
- Remember to blend the ingredients just for the honey whipped feta just enough to combine and to reach a smooth consistency. Add the water bit by bit so that you can adjust as needed. If you do end up with a runny mixture, you can remedy this by putting your mixture in the fridge to help it thicken up. I did this and after 30mins it had thickened up enough to be spread over the bread.
- The feta cheese I used included black pepper and I did not add more black pepper as an ingredient. If you are using plain feta cheese then, add at least 1/8 tsp or more (to taste).
Top tips for making tomato garlic confit
I couldn’t roast the cherry tomatoes and garlic in the oven because our oven was faulty so I decided to make the tomato garlic confit it on the stove top. This worked better than expected and it turned out utterly delicious.
- Use fresh ripe cherry or grape tomatoes, that will give you a sweet tomato-ey flavor when cooked.
- Add your favorite herbs to the oil to infuse while it cooks. Remember to season the tomatoes while cooking or it will taste bland.
- Do not let the tomato garlic confit boil after it comes up to temperature and turn the heat down to the lowest so that it can simmer gently.
- Stir the tomato garlic confit occasionally to prevent the tomatoes or garlic from catching.
- If baking the tomato garlic confit in the oven, bake at 120 degrees Celsius for 50 minutes until the garlic is soft and the tomatoes are just about to burst.
The best thing about this recipe is you can make it as boring or as exciting as you’d like. This is a great recipe to keep in your archives for when you want to prepare something other than the usual.
Other appetisers you may like
- Caramelised onion, fig and brie tart appetizer
- Cape Malay Daltjies (Chilli bites)
- Meat and Cheese platter (Antipasto board)
- Scrumptious Chicken Samoosa recipe – 2 ways
Honey Whipped Feta with tomato garlic confit
Ingredients
Stovetop tomato garlic confit
- 250 grams cherry tomatoes 1 punnet
- 8 garlic cloves
- 5 ml dried oregano or thyme
- 250 ml olive oil
- 1.25 ml salt
- 1.25 ml freshly ground black pepper
Honey whipped feta
- 300 grams feta cheese
- 45 ml cream cheese
- 60 ml water or milk
- 5 ml lemon zest from a lemon
- 15 ml lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- 45 ml honey
Instructions
Stovetop tomato garlic confit
- Add the cherry tomatoes, olive oil and garlic cloves to a small heavy bottom pot and sprinkle over the oregano, salt and black pepper. The oil should cover the tomatoes and garlic.
- Bring it up to heat and when the tomatoes start to sizzle turn down the heat to the low immediately.
- Cook on very low heat for 60 minutes until the garlic is soft and the tomatoes are tender and about to burst.
- Remember to stir the tomatoes and garlic every now and then to circulate and prevent it catching.
- At the end of the cooking time, taste to check if the garlic is tender and the tomatoes are seasoned. The feta is salty so don't over season the confit.
Honey whipped feta
- To a blender, add feta, cream cheese, honey, lemon zest, black pepper and lemon juice.
- Blend until smooth, adding the water a little at a time until the desired consistency.
- Transfer the honey whipped feta to a bowl and top with confit tomatoes and garlic. Drizzle with olive oil from the tomato garlic confit.
- Serve with crostini (toasted bread)
Nutrition
Disclaimer: Nutritional information for the recipe is an approximation and varies according to the ingredients and products used.
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I enjoy Feta Cheese and this preparation sounds absolutely gorgeous. It will certainly appear on my table. Thanks for the recipe. :))