Roasted feta and veggies.
This comes from our incredibly talented favorite chef, cousin, and tant’anj. We can’t wait for her cookbook!!!
A solid weeknight dinner that comes together in around 30 mins. It's an easy preparation-- a sheet tray meal-- but really taking care with the cut of the veggies, the surface area, and the roasting time yields a tremendous result. Roasted feta is a revelation. Heated feta becomes creamy, which is also good, but after roasting for a longer time at high temperature, feta loses its excess liquid and gains a deeply browned crust enhanced by the caramelized whey. The flavor intensifies, adding a pop of flavor and acidity to an otherwise tasty yet standard tray of veg. Nuts and seeds provide additional crunch and texture. Serve over rice or salad greens with a sauce, such as garlic, lemon yogurt; prepared tahini (water, tahini, lemon, garlic); or a green sauce (salsa verde or pesto with no parm). Hummus and hot sauce are good in a pinch as well.
Preheat the oven to 425.
Cut up a mix of winter squash and/or sweet potato (or carrot) and 1 sweet pepper (or poblano) into similar sized pieces. [Note: Base your quantity on the size of the pan. Be sure to leave enough space so that veggies can be in one flat layer without touching.]
Turn out veggies onto a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Coat with olive oil and salt and pepper.
Cut block style feta (do not use crumbles) into 1 inch cubes and nestle in between the veggies. Do this after the veggies are seasoned and oiled.
Bake for at least 20 mins. Check the tray. If and only if veggies have begun to brown, gently flip (don't stir). The feta will still be quite soft at this point so be extra careful to not break it when flipping
Bake for 10-15 mins or more. Check again. Veggies and feta should be deeply browned. Flip again.
Add desired extras: nuts (cashews or pine nuts), seeds (sunflower, pumpkin, or sesame) and/or greens (kale works best, but I bet collards might too). Gently toss/flip to encourage some of the oil to coat the new additions.
Bake for 3-5 mins longer till nuts/seeds and greens are toasted/browned.
Variations:
I tend to do salt and pepper only, but cumin seeds and chili flake are excellent spice additions.
Add chickpeas to up the protein content.
Veggies combos are endless, but I do like the combo on sweeter orange roasting veggies with the feta.