Chilli baked feta with herby lentils

Serves 2 ● Prep Time 5 Mins ● Cooking Time 15 Mins
This chilli baked feta and herby lentil recipe is the perfect midweek supper, thanks to the speed at which it can be assembled. No real cooking ability is required, yet there are some impressive flavours going on in this dish. Baking feta* allows flavours, in this case chilli and lemon, to infuse into it and also makes it a creamier consistency.
method

500g of cooked puy lentils

70g of large green olives, sliced

2 red peppers, cut into flat pieces 

4 tablespoons of chopped parsley 

2 tablespoons of chopped basil 

2 tablespoons of chopped chives 

2 large handfuls of rocket leaves 

1 block of feta cheese 

a pinch of chilli flakes

zest of quarter of a lemon

Raw apple cyder vinegar

extra virgin olive oil 

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 

  1. Lay the peppers skin side up on a roasting tray and grill under a high heat until the skins blacken and start to come away. Peel the chargrilled skin off, discard the skin and roughly slice the peppers. 
  2. If you’d like to skip this step, you can just chop the pepper, however, chargrilling them adds sweetness and the overall flavour is way more satisfying. Preheat the oven to 180ºC. 
  3. Put the block of feta on a piece of foil, sprinkle over a pinch of chilli flakes, the grated zest of quarter of a lemon, season with black pepper and drizzle over a small amount of olive oil. 
  4. Wrap the foil around the feta and bake in the oven for 15 minutes. 
  5. Whilst the feta is baking, combine the lentils, olives, peppers, herbs and rocket in a large bowl.
  6. Season well with sea salt and black pepper and drizzle over 3 tablespoons of olive oil and 4 tablespoons of raw apple cyder vinegar. Stir well and check the seasoning, adding more sea salt and black pepper if required. 
  7. Divide the salad between two plates. Take the feta out of the oven and unwrap carefully as they may be some liquid in the bottom. Slice down the middle to create two portions and top each salad with 1/2 a block of baked feta. 
  8. *If you are short on time, you can crumble the feta and top with chilli flakes and lemon zest. However we highly recommend baking as this is roughly the same amount of time it’ll take you to put together the salad anyway.


ingredients

500g of cooked puy lentils

70g of large green olives, sliced

2 red peppers, cut into flat pieces 

4 tablespoons of chopped parsley 

2 tablespoons of chopped basil 

2 tablespoons of chopped chives 

2 large handfuls of rocket leaves 

1 block of feta cheese 

a pinch of chilli flakes

zest of quarter of a lemon

Raw apple cyder vinegar

extra virgin olive oil 

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 

method
  1. Lay the peppers skin side up on a roasting tray and grill under a high heat until the skins blacken and start to come away. Peel the chargrilled skin off, discard the skin and roughly slice the peppers. 
  2. If you’d like to skip this step, you can just chop the pepper, however, chargrilling them adds sweetness and the overall flavour is way more satisfying. Preheat the oven to 180ºC. 
  3. Put the block of feta on a piece of foil, sprinkle over a pinch of chilli flakes, the grated zest of quarter of a lemon, season with black pepper and drizzle over a small amount of olive oil. 
  4. Wrap the foil around the feta and bake in the oven for 15 minutes. 
  5. Whilst the feta is baking, combine the lentils, olives, peppers, herbs and rocket in a large bowl.
  6. Season well with sea salt and black pepper and drizzle over 3 tablespoons of olive oil and 4 tablespoons of raw apple cyder vinegar. Stir well and check the seasoning, adding more sea salt and black pepper if required. 
  7. Divide the salad between two plates. Take the feta out of the oven and unwrap carefully as they may be some liquid in the bottom. Slice down the middle to create two portions and top each salad with 1/2 a block of baked feta. 
  8. *If you are short on time, you can crumble the feta and top with chilli flakes and lemon zest. However we highly recommend baking as this is roughly the same amount of time it’ll take you to put together the salad anyway.