Tag: honey
Fried Feta with Basque Pepper Honey
If you’ve been to a Greek restaurant in America, you’ve probably had saganaki – a flaming cheese appetizer that is fried, then flambéed at the table. This is the Aperitivo spin on this fried cheese dish, with a little Spanish flair.
There are a few different types of feta that you may find in the Aperitivo case – French, Israeli, Bulgarian, or Greek. These cheeses will be made primarily with sheep’s milk, sometimes with goat’s milk as well. Unlike the dry and sour-tasting cow’s milk feta that is available in the grocery stores, each of these varieties will be rich, creamy, and have varying levels of saltiness.
Any type of honey can be used in this dish. But if you use plain honey, try adding a touch of heat with ground pepper – Aleppo, cayenne, red pepper flakes, harissa, etc.
You can serve this with soft pita bread, naan, pita chips, or just simply eat it with a fork.
Fried Feta with Basque Pepper Honey
Ingredients
- 1 lemon, zested
- ¼ cup Marcona almonds
- ½ cup AP flour
- 1 large egg
- Basque pepper honey, or plain honey with a pinch of hot pepper flakes
- Fresh thyme leaves
- EVOO
- Salt and pepper
- Pita bread or chips, for serving
Instructions
- In a shallow frying pan or cast iron skillet, add a few tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil and set over medium heat. Drop the Marcona almonds in and fry until they start to get golden brown, about 3 minutes. Add in the lemon zest (save a small pinch to garnish at the end) and cook just until fragrant, only a few seconds. Remove almonds from the pan with a slotted spoon, keeping as much oil in the pan as you can, and set the almonds and lemon zest aside to cool. Take the pan off the heat until you are ready to fry the feta.
- In a shallow bowl, add the flour and season with salt and pepper. In another shallow bowl, add the egg with a splash of the brine water from the feta container and beat with a fork until mostly homogeneous.
- Slice the feta block into 1-in thick slabs. Take a slab and dredge it in the flour to coat the entire piece. Dip it into the egg wash to hydrate the flour and allow the excess to drip off. Return the feta back to the flour bowl and dredge until the egg is coated with flour. Repeat with the remaining slabs of feta.
- Return the frying pan with the lemon and almond oil to a medium heat. Add extra oil to cover the surface if needed. Carefully place the coated feta in the hot oil and fry for 2-3 minutes, until golden brown. Flip over and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes. Remove from the pan and set on a paper towel-lined plate and fry the remaining feta slabs.
- To plate, lay the fried feta on a platter. Drizzle a few over-generous drizzles of the Basque pepper honey and sprinkle on the marcona almonds, leftover lemon zest and thyme leaves. Serve with pita bread or chips.
Notes
*Tip: Zest the lemon zest with the concave part of the zester facing upwards, and zest like you are playing a violin. This allows you to ensure you aren’t zesting too deep, but also collects the zests and allows you to set it down until ready to add to the recipe.
Cheese, Honey and Jam Ice Cream
Yes, this is a thing. This insanely delicious, and truly customizable dessert is the next big thing that you should make. Like now.
Quark is a new addition to the Aperitivo cheese case. It is a mild, slightly tangy and creamy European-style fresh cheese that is similar to old-fashioned cream cheese. It’s like Greek yogurt and cream cheese had a baby. It comes from the amazing people at Vermont Creamery, and we are excited to be able to offer it to you.
While Quark can be used in a multitude of sweet and savory applications – think; stirred into soup, topped on granola, mixed in mashed potatoes – in this recipe, it’s folded with whipped cream, honey and a sweet jam, then frozen.
It would hard-pressed to say that any jam wouldn’t be delicious in this recipe. Sweet pepper, tomato jalapeño or Kalamata fig wouldn’t be first on the list, but who knows. They could work! No matter which jam you choose, 2-6 ounces would be enough to use.
The honey in this recipe is more than just acting as the sweetener. The Italian Cherry Blossom honey adds a floral complexity to the dessert that gives it a depth that is unmatched by commercial honey. If the honey is a bit crystallized, place the entire jar in a large bowl and fill with hot water. Let the jar sit in the water for a few minutes to gently warm up.
Cheese, Honey and Jam Ice Cream
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- ½ cup Ritrovo Selections Italian Cherry Blossom honey
- 1 (8-oz.) container Vermont Creamery Quark
- 1 small jar Eat This! Spiced Caramel Pear Jam or a few ounces of any other sweet jam
- Kosher salt
- Crunchy salt, optional
Spray a 9×4 loaf pan with cooking spray and lay in a large piece of plastic wrap.
Pour heavy cream in a large bowl – Cold bowls and cold cream make whipping easier! Whip the cream using a handheld beater, a stand mixer with a whisk attachment or a whisk and good ole elbow grease. Whip until you see stiff peaks.
To that bowl, gently fold in the Quark. Once combined, fold in the honey and Spiced Caramel Pear jam and a pinch of salt, leaving streaks of honey and jam throughout.
Transfer the mixture into the prepared loaf pan and place in the freezer. Freeze for 2-3 hours.
Scoop into bowls and serve. Sprinkle with crunchy salt if desired.
*This can be made one-week ahead. Tightly cover and let thaw in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes before serving.
OG Aperitivo Nachos
Created out of desperation during a late-night craving for chicken and waffles, the OG Aperitivo nachos are a guilty pleasure that you should feel no shame in eating.
This snack hits all the flavor and texture points you want when needing a comfort meal – cheesy, spicy, sweet and crunchy – And it can be made in almost an instant, with minimal ingredients. It is scoop-able, indulgent, and fit to serve company or eat from your lap while watching crappy TV. No judgment here.
While Fritos are the chips of choice for the OG Aperitivo Nachos, if you have a bag of regular potato chips or tortilla chips, use them instead. This is about getting this from your oven to your mouth as quickly as possible. Be adaptable! That being said, everyone’s oven is different. If broiling works well to melt your cheese, awesome. If not, heat at 400°F and let melt there. Also, a microwave works too. But only if you are very desperate.
**While this is the OG of nacho combinations, there is no end to the amazing Nacho combinations that can be created from the Aperitivo case. Check out some of our other favorites here.
OG Aperitivo Nachos
Serves 1 hungry person or 2 polite people willing to share
- One 10.25 ounce bag regular Fritos – or as many small bags as to fill up a baking sheet
- .3 – .5 pound wedge of French Raclette
- ¼ cup Mama Lil’s pickled peppers
- Honey – try some of the great varieties on the Aperitivo shelf
Using a large-hole cheese grater, shred the French Raclette.
Spread Fritos out on a rimmed baking sheet.
Sprinkle shredded French Raclette evenly over Fritos.
Set baking sheet in the oven and set to Broil. Keep an eye on the tray and remove once the cheese is melty and bubbling, about 5 minutes.
Remove from oven and sprinkle Mama’s Lil’s over the melted cheese. Drizzle the entire pan with honey. Serve/eat immediately.
‘Nduja Honey Butter
If you haven’t been exposed to ‘Nduja yet, get ready for your world to be rocked. Seriously.
This spicy, spreadable salami comes from the Calabria region of Italy but is available from some of our favorite American charcutiers – La Quercia and Nduja Artisans. Chunks of prosciutto and speck are ground together with spices and Calabrian chiles, giving nduja an unmistakable porky, spicy and tangy flavor. It might be one of the most versatile ingredients sold in the Aperitivo meat case – we use it in vinaigrettes, serve alongside burrata, stuff into dates and spread on the ever-popular Hot Calabrian sandwich.
At home, a scoop of nduja can do wonders for sauteed peppers and onions, makes an amazing pizza topping, is the best secret ingredient in carbonara and this… ‘Nduja Honey Butter.
Creamy, salty, sweet and spicy, this butter is insane with no limits on how to use it – a generous smear on a breakfast sandwich, tossed with zucchini noodles, rubbed on salmon before roasting… the possibilities are endless.
This recipe can be easily scaled up or down. Only have half a package, use half a stick of butter! Don’t want it to be too spicy? Use less ‘nduja. We are big fans of cultured butter here at Aperitivo, but no need to use here. Regular unsalted butter works just fine. Save your fancy butter for when it should be just about the butter.
‘Nduja Honey Butter
Ingredients
- 1 package 'nduja – try La Quercia or 'Nduja Artisan
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- 1 Tbsp honey, plus more to taste – try Sleeping Bear Dunes
Instructions
- Allow the butter and 'nduja to sit out and come to room temperature. (The butter will take longer).
- In a mixing bowl, stir together the 'nduja, butter, and honey until combined. Taste, then add additional honey or salt if needed.
- Eat with a spoon directly out of the bowl, or store in the fridge in an airtight container. Let come up to room temperature for easier spreading.