Yep, feta cheese dip with a pan roasted garlic and burst tomato vinaigrette…plus fresh dill! YUMM…times like five. I mean, really? I think the title here pretty much sums up this recipe. How could feta cheese with lemon, garlic, tomatoes and olive oil not be incredible? It’s one of those flavors combos that’s just too good to ever tire of. You know? Plus, where there is toasted bread and cheese involved, I am always, always game.
So here’s the deal. I was a little behind last week when Lynd’s and Abby (aka my go-to recipe advisers) rolled on up into my kitchen. I put them right to work and had them help me with some summer recipe development. Of course the first thing they honed in on was the cheese. DUH. <–they are totally my kind of people. I think one of the very first recipe requests was a lemony feta dip. Lyndsie asked if I had ever done a simple feta dip, and I said nope. At first I was hesitant to do yet another cheese appetizer (because I have one coming up on Monday…and I’m pretty excited about it too), but after about .10 seconds of Lynd’s trying to talk me into it, I was sold. You just can never have too many easy, cheesy dips in your back pocket…especially for summer entertaining. So today we’re talkin’ lemon feta dip!
As I already hinted earlier, this dip is so easy. It’s really not even an actual dip, more like another way to serve up crumbled feta. But no matter how you look at this recipe, it is so delicious! But then I say that about all my cheesy recipes…. Anyway, for practical purposes I’m going to stick to calling this a dip…and here’s how this dip comes together. Start by making the vinaigrette. I’m really into herb oils and vinaigrettes at the moment, and this garlicy one is high on my list. You’ll need high quality extra virgin olive oil, cherry tomatoes, garlic, crushed red pepper flakes, and the rind of one lemon. Simmer the mix on the stove until the tomatoes burst, the garlic is caramelized and fragrant, and the lemon has fried. <— um I could eat just that with bread and be a very happy person. Just sayin’…it’s delish. BUT of course it is just soooo much better with feta! So crumble the feta into a bowl, drizzle with the warm vinaigrette, and top with fresh dill and chives. Done and DONE.
So fast, so simple, and so good. I like to serve this dip with grilled pita, or a crusty bread for scooping. But if you’re more of a veggie dipper kind of person, I think zucchini, carrots and cucumbers would all be delicious. Maybe even get creative and use massaged kale or red leaf lettuce? All would be really great! If you’re wanting to make this for a party, the vinaigrette can be made a few days ahead and kept in the fridge. Just bring it back to room temperature before serving. Also, if you happen to have a lot of cherry tomatoes on hand, I recommend doubling the vinaigrette and saving half for salads, pastas or simply for dipping bread into. It’s honestly so yummy! Double also, if you wanted to make this for a Tuesday lunch…with a rather large side of pita chips, I would totally understand that. The arugula on top makes this kind of like a salad anyway. <–you gotta kind of love the way my mind rationalizes things, right? Yes, yes, yes!
It’s for sure a lemon feta dip lunch kind of day. Mwahahaha.
