I’m gonna go ahead and say, right away, that this stuff rocks. Like – seriously. It is insanely good. If you like feta cheese (and come on – who doesn’t like feta cheese?) then you’ll love this cream of feta dip! Best of all, it could not possibly be easier to make. You need a mere handful of things and the whole thing comes together in about 2 minutes.
Do you remember this post? Yikes – I can’t believe that was pretty much a year ago. Excuse me while I wipe a little tear of reminiscence from the corner of my eye. Well, I digress; my wife was doing some volunteer work and so Willy and I were having some special father and son time and we took a walk around a market, which was a very bad idea. Faced with delicious food I have pretty much zero fiscal responsibility and this wasn’t just any regular market selling fruit, veg, meat and fish. Oh no. This one had a stand from a local farm, selling hen, duck and goose eggs, an Italian stall selling all kinds of meats, pastas and cakes, another place selling freshly grilled chickens, ribs and roast potatoes and finally, my favourite – a big smiley Cypriot guy standing in front of about 30 different buckets of olives, and about 40 different kinds of “salads”. I say “salads” because there were a lot of things like this – Cream of Feta Dip – which I do indeed think is more of a dip, than a salad.
In any case, he kept offering me samples to try, and I kept loving the things he was selling, and so I bought way too much stuff. So much stuff in fact that he gave me a free pot of cream of feta dip, and I’m sure glad he did, because now I’ve figured out how to make it myself, and it rocks.
Cream of Feta Dip
So, feta is feta, right? Sure – it’s crumbly and hard. But imagine it in a dip-able format, with a perfect blend of herbs? It’ll blow a lot of other dips right out of the water, so I’m going to stop here for today and leave you with two words:
Make this.
Cream of Feta Dip
Ingredients
- 300 g Feta Cheese
- 200 g Crème Fraîche
- 2 tbsps Olive Oil
- 2 tbsps Dried Mint
- 3 tsps Dried Oregano
- 1 tsp freshly ground Black Pepper
Instructions
- Crumble the feta cheese into a food processor and add in the crème fraîche, olive oil, dried mint, dried oregano and black pepper and blitz until smooth.
- Adjust the seasoning and herbs to taste and then transfer to a bowl to serve.
Oh my, this does sound good. I know what you mean about being around no food and no fiscal responsibility. I’m guilty, guilty, guilty.
I’d do the same thing if I got this dip!
Oh yeah… tasty food has incredible pulling power!
YUM. This looks and sounds delicious! Infact, I am planning a platter of antipasto for some friends next week and I think this would make a lovely quick addition. What do you suggest to dip with it? Pitta? Veggies? Crisps? What works best would you say? xx
Hi Anneli – I think this one personally goes great with just about anything… vegetable sticks and perhaps something like plain tortilla chips. It can be a bit more “compact” than other dips, so regular potato chips might snap more easily. Goes great in and on bread too!
A combination of cream fraiche and feta…what is not to love. All your dips are going to lead to my delinquency. 🙂 BTW, your photos on the last two posts are not loading even after trying to refresh several times….not having a problem on anyone else’s blogs.
Thanks Karen – it definitely satisfied my “dip need” :D. I’ve fixed the image issue now – thanks for telling me about it 🙂
I don’t like Feta cheese….:( I just can’t eat it. Feta combined with olives can put me off food for a substantial period. You must think I am crazy.
This dip looks so good…I wonder if it will change my thoughts….
And I am no different when it comes to splurging at a delightful aromatic goodie store. Guilty!
Oh no! But it’s so good! I’m afraid this wouldn’t really work with any other cheese sadly, but never mind – the world of dips is large and varied 😀
Oh my, I too would’ve gone crazy at the market! He wasn’t selling any doner kebabs?? I wouldn’t have left his stall for anything then! As it is, olives and feta is enough to keep me there for a while. This looks really great, Charles! Creamy feta dip, mmm, with some warm pita bread…yum!
Sadly not – but those were never a big thing in France, and even when you find a kebab place they made them weird and served them in ciabatta-type bread. Very odd.
You know what a sucker I am for savoury dishes compared to sweet so I wouldn’t want to have that big bowl of dip and a selection of crunchy breads/rolls put in front of me cause I wouldn’t get up until it was all gone. Delicious indeed, Charles.
Do you have to pre-soak your feta in water to get out any excess saltiness?
I haven’t indulged in any trips to the city market in ages because I am trying to be fiscally responsible but I’m tempted by your description of your experience. 🙂
No pre-soaking required. I’m not sure whether the stuff you have must be saltier, or whether we just eat it differently here. I’ve never heard of anyone soaking their feta before. I’ve always just known it as that “cheese which has a nice saltiness to it”.
O.K. – I’m nodding my head – yes, yes, yes. Huge feta fans here so I can see this becoming a family favorite for sure. I love the use of the dried mint. That’s not something you see in recipes much; however, like you, I love using it. I added some to a pasta dish last night. Great recipe and thank that man at the market for that free sample, because I think a lot of us are going to be making this!
Yeah, dried mint isn’t something you see used much, it’s true. Fresh mint is very good – best of course – but dried mint has some qualities which fresh mint does not really. An ever so slightly different taste which goes well in this dish.
Alas, it’s Good Friday and so a public holiday and the shops are shut tight. I’m not able to dash to the shops to buy the necessary ingredients. It looks and sounds amazing and I’d love some on a bit of bread. Can I ask…is it possible to make this using fresh herbs or does it only work with dried? xx
Hey Charlie – I guess you can make this with Fresh herbs, but you’d need more I think. The flavour would be slightly different too I feel… dried mint has quite a distinctive flavour.
Sounds good to me. I adore Feta too.
Totally! Feta and halloumi… could live of those things!
I just love when things happen that way! I bet that dip was expensive too, so after all that spending, you’ve actually figured out how to save money! Ok, that maybe a bit of a stretch (you think?)! It’s really difficult to find good feta here; most of it just tastes like salty plastic. We get mainly Canadian feta that’s called ‘Greek style’ which means it’s not Greek at all. We used to get a French sheep’s milk feta that was TDF but now it’s not available (and it was expensive, but so damn good). I’m going to bookmark this for cottage season, it’ll be perfect to have with cocktails on the porch. I just made a batch of my cracker flat breads which should be lovely with them.
That old post was fun to re read…12.1kg…I bet he’s a bit heavier today, particularly with a daddy who is such an amazing cook. 🙂
Salty plastic… bleurgh. I’m not sure how it is in Canada or the US but over here “Feta” is a protected term. From Wiki:
“Since 2002, “feta” has been a protected designation of origin product in the European Union. According to the relevant EU legislation, only those cheeses produced in a traditional way in some areas of Greece (mainland and the island of Lesbos), and made from sheep’s milk, or from a mixture of sheep and goat’s milk (up to 30%) of the same area, may bear the name “feta”.”
If it doesn’t meet those criteria then it has to be called something else. In France, the “non-feta” which was actually good, was called “Fromage de brébis”, for example.
I love feta, I could live off of this dip!
Thanks Laura – it was a big it! 🙂
Love the look of your new website and especially this dip. My husband loves feta and this weekend I need some snack to keep my boys fed, perfect solution! Take care, BAM
Comments Bam!
Er… my apologies, that should be “Thanks” Bam!… lol!
One more dip and one more including feta! I am a big fan of feta, so I’m delighted to see another delicious idea. I see you are going through a “dip” period 😉 Of course I don’t think anyone would complain. Certainly not me. Who doesn’t like dips?
Thanks Sissi – I’d recommend this, I really would – it was so lovely, and doesn’t even have to be used as a dip per se. I think it would be lovely on potatoes, in salads etc.
Oh YUM!
I would love to be scooping up spoonfuls of this dip!!! I know I wouldn’t be able to stop.
What a treat!
Gourmet Getaways
Thanks GG – the mint was a perfect touch!
Ha ha ha! I would really like to have the ‘seriously rock’ dip! I love feta cheese and I stock in my refrigerator for mostly use in my salad. This could be insanely addictive, right?
I hope you had a wonderful Easter!
Thanks Nipponnin – yes, it was really good, especially if you’re a big fan of feta. I think you’d love the slightly new way of having it!
Now this dip is right up Mike’s alley. He loves feta. I don’t mind it, but prefer it in small quantities. It’s odd because I like goat cheese and other soft cheeses, but Mike doesn’t. Go figure. Still he would love this one for sure – and see there was a reason you bought so much stuff that day. You just didn’t realize the benefit at the time. 😉 Willy is growing up isn’t he. I do remember that shopping day and post. Time flies!
Yeah, I guess I thought he was heavy *then*… oh how little I knew. Still, at least he’s more upwardly mobile now and can toddle about by himself. That’s all good until he gets in a rage and demands to be carried! 😀
Yes, Crème Fraîche has a way of making everything it comes into contact with insanely good ;-). This sounds like a gorgeous dip and one that I would especially like to serve to guests — they’ll love it and I won’t devour it all on my own — it’s a win/win!! 🙂
Plus you can say it’s healthy (healthier!) if you get reduced fat crème fraîche, which is always a big plus! 😀
I’ve never had feta dip before. But you said it rocks, and I’m tempted! My problem with dip is that I tend to eat too much of bread… I enjoy eating bread so much, this is a dangerous territory for me. =P
Oh yeah – it’s just not the same with veg is it… bread all the way!