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So we all know about baked feta from that baked feta and tomato pasta trend on TikTok. I tried it and I think it is perfectly tasty but one thing that confused me about it was why people’s minds were so blown. It’s warmed, creamy cheese and roasted tomatoes…OF COURSE those taste good together! But rather than fester on my confusion, I decided to take inspiration from the baked feta trend and make it a bit more interesting. We all know that roasted tomatoes are amazing…but have you tried roasting strawberries?

Think about when you are eating a charcuterie platter where there’s crostini, and spreadable cheeses, and jams, and how combining those things is like a party for your mouth. This is basically a sheet pan version of that!

Roasting tender fruits like strawberries makes them so lovely and jammy because it concentrates their flavors and makes them soft. Obviously baking the block of feta makes it warm and soft and spreadable, so it becomes perfect to smash on top of toast. I admit that this is not all that groundbreaking either, but a lot of people don’t think to roast sweet fruits like berries and grapes, so I thought this recipe was still worth sharing. It also makes your house smell amazing.

Ingredients

1 lb strawberries
8 oz feta (domestic is fine)
2 tbsp date syrup
freshly cracked pepper, to taste
1/2 a soft baguette, cut into 1/2-inch slices
extra virgin olive oil
1–2 sprigs basil, leaves picked

Procedure

Position one rack in the middle of the oven and another closer to the bottom. Preheat oven to 400°F.

Remove the stems and leaves of the strawberries. Slice smaller strawberries in half and cut larger ones into 1/4-inch slices.

Place the block of feta on a baking sheet and arrange strawberries around it. Drizzle date syrup and sprinkle black pepper over everything.

Bake the feta and strawberries for 20 minutes on the middle rack.

In the meantime, brush the baguette slices with some olive oil. When there are 3–5 minutes left for the sheet pan (depending on how crunchy you like your toast), add the bread onto the other oven rack.

Take everything out of the oven, then gently mix the strawberries around with the juices that released.

Roughly chop larger pieces of basil and leave the small leaves whole.

To serve, smear some of the soft feta on top of each toast, then spoon on some of the strawberry mixture. Top with the fresh basil.