Recipe: Garlicky Whipped Feta Dip (with a Citrus Fennel Salad)
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I have been on a real feta kick lately. Maybe I have been brainwashed by that baked feta pasta that went viral on TikTok (which, by the way is tasty and also really nice on toast instead of pasta too.) But the crappy cheap stuff from Trader Joe’s is actually super versatile and I find that it’s a cheese that keeps remarkably well in my fridge even when it’s a small nubbin I forget about for a while. Sometimes I get real lazy and just microwave it a little bit to soften before attacking it with a tiny whisk and it becomes a pretty decent spread on toast, but recently I have also decided to bust out the food processor and make a proper whipped feta dip. And after enjoying it a couple of times, I admit that it is worth the extra effort and dishwashing (which, the latter is done by Spouse anyway).
So, here is my whipped feta dip recipe by way of the food processor. Like I think of all dip recipes, this is meant to be just guidelines. Your feta may be softer and more watery than mine. You may want something thicker than what you see in the photos. Like toast, I do not think dip recipes should lock you into the belief that you need to measure everything to get it right. The only thing I can confirm is that this is what worked very nicely for me on the day that I took these photos, topping my dip with my newfound and latecoming appreciation for citrus and serving with lots of crostini on the side.
The feta dip is also a great base for fancy toasts, or on bagels. Or with crudités. Obviously it is good with anything that creamy dips are good with, which is everything.
How to Make Garlicky Whipped Feta Dip (with a Citrus Fennel Salad)
Ingredients for the feta dip
8 oz feta (domestic is fine)
2–4 garlic cloves
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup 2% Greek yogurt
Ingredients for the citrus salad
1 small blood orange
1 small cara cara orange
1 bulb of baby fennel, thinly shaved
some fennel fronds, to taste
3–4 kumquats, thinly sliced
1 sprig of basil leaves, thinly sliced
extra virgin olive oil
freshly cracked pepper
For Serving
toasts or crostini
Procedure
To make the feta dip, break the feta into chunks and add to the bowl of a food processor. Add garlic and olive oil. Process until a homogenous paste forms. Add the yogurt and process until smooth. Scoop into a serving bowl, using the back of a spoon to create some areas for oil to pool.
To make the salad, use a sharp knife to carefully slice off the peel and pith from both oranges. Then cut out the segments, leaving the skin that contains the segments behind.
Place the orange segments on top of the feta dip. Scatter the shaved fennel and kumquat slices on top. Garnish with the fennel fronds and the basil, then drizzle olive oil over everything and crack some black pepper on it.
Serve with your dippers of choice.