Baked pasta with fetaThis week’s baked pasta with feta is Turkish in origin. The basic recipe is from Claudia Roden Arabesque, A taste of Morocco, Turkey and Lebanon, 2005, Penguin Books Ltd, London. She describes it as "easy-to-make comfort food" and that’s what it is. I have infused the milk with a bay leaf for more flavour and added extra cheese and a little cayenne pepper.
Use a feta with plenty of flavour for this dish. Don’t cook it for too long or leave it sitting in the oven, as it may become dry. Add some chopped flat-leaf parsley if you like or fold through a bunch of wilted and chopped spinach or slices of fried zucchini.
Serves 4
500ml milk
1 bay leaf
4 free range eggs
200g feta cheese
sea salt
pinch of cayenne
300g tagliatelle nests or macaroni
4 tablespoons grated Parmesan, pecorino or kefalotiri cheese
2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil or butter
Preheat oven to 180 C. Grease a 23cm square or similar sized ovenproof dish and dust with dry breadcrumbs or semolina. Crumble the feta with your fingers or use a fork. Add the bay leaf to the milk in a saucepan and bring it to the boil. Whisk the eggs in a bowl and still whisking, pour on the hot milk. Add the mashed feta, and season with a little salt and the cayenne. Crush the tagliatelle nests into pieces with your hands. I do this while it’s still in the packet. Throw pasta into plenty of salted boiling water and cook until al dente or for slightly less time than suggested on the packet. Drain and toss with some olive oil, to prevent the pasta sticking together. Add the pasta to the milk, egg and cheese and mix well. Tip the mixture into the greased baking dish. Sprinkle grated cheese over the top and drizzle with a capful of olive oil or dot with butter. Bake in oven for 35-45 minutes until it’s puffed up and golden. Let it settle for a few minutes before serving.
Shepherd’s salad
There are many versions of shepherd’s salad, sometimes simply called chopped salad in the Middle East. I’m sure you will want to add this recipe to your collection.
I have used sumac in the salad, this is a dark-red berry from a shrub found in the Middle East. It is dried and ground and used sprinkled over salads and grills. It has a sour, lemony taste and can be used instead of lemon juice.
This lovely refreshing salad can be made in minutes and goes with practically everything. It is important to have really good tomatoes. It should be eaten freshly made.
1 red onion or a few spring onions
4 medium ripe tomatoes
2 Lebanese cucumbers, peeled or not
1 red or green pepper (optional)
bunch of flat-leaf parsley
2-3 tbsp chopped mint or dill
1-2 tsp sumac (optional)
Dressing
2 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Peel and chop the onion quite finely or slice spring onions. Cut the tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers into approximately 1cm cubes and place in a bowl with the onion.
Combine the dressing ingredients in a jar and shake, taste to check the seasonings and adjust if needed.
At the last minute finely chop the parsley, mint or dill and add to the salad. Pour the dressing over the salad and mix together. Sprinkle with the sumac, if using.
Variation: An alternate dressing can be made with 3 tablespoons tahina, thinned with lemon juice to taste and a little water. Season it with salt and pepper.