Magnificent News: Eat Voraciously: Whipped feta

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Here's what's for dinner tonight.

By G. Daniela Galarza

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Whipped feta

Briny and crumbly and just a little bit melty, feta is a cheese I always keep around. I use it to top tacos and crumble into scrambled eggs. I add it to crunchy salads and sweet-and-sour salsas with dried fruit and olives. I use the brine in bread dough and to marinate meats.

Like my mother, sometimes I eat slabs of the wet, salty cheese folded into pockets of pita, with sweet tea for breakfast or lots of fresh herbs and scallions for lunch. But it wasn't until a dear friend shared her family's Greek recipe for whipped feta, with yogurt and herbs, that I ever thought to stick chunks of feta in a food processor and let it get as creamy as ricotta.

Feta whipped with Greek yogurt is the heart of this sandwich, built on a flatbread and stuffed full of summer cucumbers, tomatoes and avocado. Red onion adds a peppery surprise, fresh mint tames that heat, and lemon zest and juice lend dappled sunshine. It could be lunch on a day when you're working from home. But I think it makes an ideal summer dinner, too, maybe with crunchy chickpeas or a grilled eggplant salad on the side.

Today's recipe

Photos by Dixie D. Vereen for The Washington Post

Veggie Flatbread Sandwich With Feta-Yogurt Spread

Substitutions and additions:

No feta? >> How about ricotta, farmer cheese or cream cheese? You could also dress the Greek yogurt with a pinch of toasted cumin, coriander and lemon juice and omit the feta.
Can't do too much dairy? >> Vegan feta is excellent, especially Viola brand, as is yogurt made from coconut milk.
Any kind of flatbread works here, including pitas and tortillas >> but if you don't have flatbread around, this sandwich also is great on any slice of bread. Or, spread the whipped feta into a bowl and top it with the vegetables to turn it into a salad.
I like using Persian cucumbers instead of the English variety. >> You could substitute bell peppers or jicama, too.
The red onion adds a pop of color and pleasant astringency >> though scallions or chives or minced shallot work, too. You could also omit it.
Use ripe tomatoes and avocados for the best effect >> or substitute tender corn and snap peas, thinly sliced zucchini or small, crunchy lettuce leaves.
Mint is really nice here >> but any tender herbs work.

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Servings: 4
Total time: 15 mins

Ingredients

6 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup plain whole Greek yogurt
Freshly ground black pepper
4 store-bought flatbreads or naan, warmed
1/4 English (seedless) cucumber, thinly sliced
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
1 large, ripe tomato, sliced
Flesh of 1 ripe avocado, sliced
Kosher salt
1/3 cup fresh mint leaves, coarsely torn
1 lemon

Steps

1. Combine the feta and yogurt in a food processor; puree until smooth and creamy. Transfer to a small bowl; season lightly with pepper. Spread the mixture over each flatbread.

2. Arrange the cucumber, onion, tomato and avocado slices over one half of each flatbread. Season lightly with salt and pepper, then top with the mint.

3. Finely grate some lemon zest over each portion, then cut the lemon in half and squeeze some of its juice (to taste) over each one.

4. Fold over to form a sandwich; use toothpicks as needed to hold the bread in place. Cut the sandwiches in half if desired, and serve.

Adapted from "Good Food, Good Life," by Curtis Stone (Ballantine Books, 2015).Tested by Joe Yonan.

Nutrition information per serving: Calories: 440; Total Fat: 20 g; Saturated Fat: 9 g; Cholesterol: 40 mg; Sodium: 990 mg; Carbohydrates: 47 g; Dietary Fiber: 4 g; Sugars: 7 g; Protein: 17 g.