Potato Carrot Gratin with Feta

 Here's a nice new side dish that's perfect for early fall, and goes very well with chicken or pork. Or hey, anything. Or nothing - it's a good vegetarian main dish as well, perhaps with a hearty bean salad on the side. The flavors really complement each other - the salty feta, the earthy carrots... very yummy indeed.

Potato Carrot Gratin with Feta
serves 4

900 g potatoes, peeled and cut into smaller pieces
300 g carrots, peeled and cut into smaller pieces
1 red pepper, cut into smaller pieces
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 tbsp neutral oil (like canola)
 salt, pepper
150 g feta cheese
300 ml cream

 Prepare the veggies. Fry on medium heat in the oil for about ten minutes in total - start with the potatoes and carrots and add the pepper and onion towards the end. Season with salt and pepper.

Put half of the veggies in an oven-proof dish. Crumble in the feta. Top with the remaining veggies, and then add cream. Bake at 200°C for about 45 minutes, or until everything is cooked through. Watch closely though, you might want to cover the dish with foil to prevent burning.

Carrot Soup with Cashews & Feta

Soup, especially puréed, is one of few dishes I can pretty much rely on my toddler to eat. He loves it - almost regardless of what goes in it, as long as it's not too spicy. And as long as he can't see it, I guess. We, his parents, are however not huge soup fans. His dad often complains that it's not filling, and I often find it plain and boring. But since Titus loves soup, I keep an eye out for interesting recipes and this one caught my eye at Ann-Louise's Swedish blog: Lilla Matderivén. Carrots are always good, and with the textural addition of cooked cashews and the zippiness of feta cheese... yeah. Good. Very.

I added a handful of lentils to pack some extra protein in there, and omitted fresh thyme since I didn't have any. I also added some toasted cashews to serve on top, for more crunch. Next time, I'll add some fresh cilantro on top, too. (Titus won't touch any toppings, by the way.)

Carrot Soup with Cashews & Feta
serves 4

3 shalotts (or 1 small onion), diced
1 tbsp neutral oil
700 g carrots, sliced
75 ml cashew nuts, raw (a large handful)
75 ml red lentils
1 litre vegetable stock
150 g feta cheese, divided
Handful of cashew nuts, toasted and coarsely chopped

Fry the shalotts (or onion) in the oil, on medium heat. When it looks transclucent, add carrots, cashews and lentils. After a few minutes, add the vegetable stock.

Turn the heat up to high and bring to a boil. Then, cover with a lid, lower the heat and let it simmer on low heat for about 20 minutes. Check to make sure the carrots are soft. Crumble in half of the feta (reserve the other half for serving) and then use an immersion blender to purée the soup until very smooth.

Serve with the reserved feta, and some toasted cashews.

Cauliflower Feta Fritters

This is a really yummy little vegetarian dish that serves well as a starter, or as part of a buffet. I've made it three times in a short while, one of those our big 13-course dinner, since discovering them on one of my favorite food blogs, Smitten Kitchen. It's been really well received each time, and my baby loves it too. (The toddler, not so much.) Keeping the baby in mind, I haven't added any extra salt to these. You can, of course, but the feta is so salty you really don't need to. I also add a little pinch of ancho chili - not enough to add any real heat, but a slight smokiness.

A little cumin yogurt and pomegranate seeds are perfect with these! (Never mind the unripe ones in the awful photo above...)

And everything can be prepared well in advance. The fritters heat up well in the oven, so you can make them ahead of time, if you want to.

Cauliflower Feta Fritters
makes 12

1 head of cauliflower
100 g feta cheese
zest of 1 lemon
1 garlic clove
1 egg
125 ml all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ancho chili powder

To serve:
100 ml thick yogurt (greek or turkish style)
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 pomegranate

Cut the cauliflower into large florets, and cook in lightly salted water (or just water, if you're worried about salt) until soft - about 6-7 minutes. (It will depend on how large you cut your cauliflower.)

In a large bowl, grate the lemon zest and the garlic - a Microplane comes in handy here. Add the egg and whisk.

When the cauliflower is cooked, rinse it with cold water and let it dry on a towel, then add to the bowl. Mash with a potato masher until it's all well-mixed. Crumble in the feta. Add flour, baking soda and chili, and mix into a uniform batter.

Fry in a little bit of olive oil until lightly golden on both sides.

To serve, stir together yogurt and cumin, and pick the seeds from the pomegranate. Serve with a dollop of yogurt and a sprinkle of pomegranate.

Feta-topped salmon

Amazing, amazing, amazing. (although not so pretty) I used the best salmon I could find, labeled "Salma", and that is SO good. Most people probably eat it raw, but since I'm wary of fishy-tasting fish.. I figured it'd be great to cook with as well.

You can add in all sorts of things for the topping. I just went with what I had. 

Feta-topped salmon

serves 4

4 portions of boneless, skinless salmon fillet- about 600 g

200 ml crème fraîche

150 g feta cheese

1-2 tbsp capers

4 sundried tomatoes

2 scallions

black pepper

Finely chop the capers, tomatoes and scallions. Mix with the cheese and crème fraîche, and season with black pepper. No need for salt. 

Place the salmon in an oven-proof dish (they should fit quite snugly) and cover with the topping. Bake at 200°C for 15-20 minutes. (Depending on how well-cooked you like your salmon, you could probably take it out even quicker, but I prefer mine to be pretty well done...) 

Watermelon & Feta Salad

I can't tell you how much watermelon we've bought, and eaten, this summer. I try to keep some in the fridge at all times. We all love it, it's so refreshing.

This simple salad can be adapted in a hundred different ways. This is very basic but feel free to add things you like - maybe some black olives, capers, chopped coriander or maybe just some black pepper.

Watermelon & Feta Salad
serves 4

1 large watermelon wedge, in large dice
70 g feta cheese, crumbled
1/2 small red onion, finely diced
1 lime, juiced

Just toss to combine.

Recipe in Swedish:
Sallad med vattenmelon och fetaost

Awesome salad

You already know I love broccoli slaw, but I had to share this great variation as well. It's simple, but oh-so-good: it has feta cheese instead of onions!

A quick sketch - raw broccoli, both florets and stem, thinly sliced. A handful of yellow raisins. Some toasted almonds, chopped. Crumbled feta cheese. For the dressing, combine mayo, white wine vinegar, salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar.

Chicken & Bacon Pasta

A quick weekday recipe! I also have to tell you about the pasta I used here - it's from the producer Zeta, and it's made with a bronze press which gives it a great texture. I really enjoyed it, it had a great bite. The shape was called Mezze Maniche, and it was basically short, wide tubes. Yummy!

Chicken & Bacon Pasta
serves 2-3

1/2 rotisserie chicken, or two cooked chicken legs, shredded
70 g bacon
1/2 zucchini, cored and in thin slices
1 red onion, thinly sliced
50 g feta cheese
1-200 ml cream (any fat content you'd like)
200 g pasta

Boil the pasta according to the package, in plenty of salted water. Meanwhile, dice the bacon and fry it in a dry pan. When it's crispy, add the zucchini and onion and fry for a few minutes. Add the chicken and cream, and let it heat through. When the pasta is done, drain - but reserve some of the cooking water - and add to the pan. Crumble in the feta cheese. If the pasta looks dry, add some of the reserved cooking water.

Recipe in Swedish:
Kyckling & Baconpasta