Why you are cooking this tonight
The whipped feta is the dip that stole Australian summer entertaining in the last decade. A blender. A block of good feta. Greek yoghurt. Lemon zest. Olive oil. Ten minutes, and you have the creamy, salty, lemon-bright dip that everyone asks for the recipe of. Spread it thick on a board, drip honey on top, add cracked pepper, scatter thyme. Serve with anything – crackers, pita, warm sourdough, carrot sticks, a spoon.
Use Meredith marinated feta if you can find it at your local Deli. Its brine adds a mineral kick you do not get from supermarket feta. If you cannot, Dodoni or any decent barrel-aged Greek feta is fine.
Notes on method
Room-temperature feta blends smoother. Do not overbeat the yoghurt in – work in quick pulses. A generous drizzle of cold-pressed olive oil on serving is the difference between fine and lovely.
What to pour with it
A cold glass of Hunter semillon, or an Aperol Spritz. For a cocktail, a Gin and Tonic with lemon and thyme echoes the lemon zest.
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The recipe
Ingredients
Method
- Put feta in a food processor and blitz until crumbly.
- Add yoghurt, lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic and pepper. Pulse until smooth and fluffy. Taste; it may need a pinch of salt depending on the feta.
- Spread on a shallow serving plate in a thick rustic layer, using the back of a spoon to make dips and peaks.
- Drizzle with honey, scatter with thyme leaves, finish with olive oil and cracked pepper.
- Serve immediately with warm sourdough torn into pieces or crackers.
Nutrition
Two things that go wrong
You used cold feta.
Cold feta blends to a stiff, gluey paste. Bring it to room temperature for an hour before whipping — it’ll go light and airy in the food processor. Trust this.
You over-blended it.
Run the processor in 5-second bursts. If you let it run continuously the feta heats up, the texture goes weird, and you lose the whipped quality. Pulse, scrape, pulse, scrape — done in 30 seconds total.
Variations worth knowing
- With chilli and lemonSkip the honey, add a teaspoon of chilli flakes and the zest of a lemon. Spicy and zesty, great with grilled vegetables.
- Beetroot whipped fetaBlend in 100g of cooked beetroot for a vivid pink dip. Earthy, sweet, and unbelievably striking on the table.
- SmokedAdd a teaspoon of smoked paprika and a small chunk of smoked feta if you can find it. Char the bread before serving for full smoky impact.
Leftovers and make ahead
Whipped feta keeps 4 days covered in the fridge. The texture firms up cold, so let it warm up for 20 minutes before serving again. Spread on toast for breakfast, dollop on roasted veg, stir into pasta, or use as a base for crudités.