Baked Feta with White Beans and Wilted Greens

, from Issue #79. July, 2018
Photography by Josh Griggs.
Baked Feta with White Beans and Wilted Greens

Serve lots of warm grilled sourdough bread with this recipe – it’s perfect for piling the molten feta on and mopping up the juices.

Serves: 4–6

INGREDIENTS

8 large silverbeet leaves
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 bunch spring onions, sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 teaspoons each ground cumin and mild curry powder
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
2 x 400-gram tins cannellini beans, drained, rinsed
1 cup vegetable stock or water
1 punnet mixed cherry tomatoes
2 x 200-gram blocks creamy feta
ground paprika, to sprinkle
sea salt and ground pepper
To serve
thick plain yoghurt and grilled sourdough bread

METHOD

Preheat the grill to its highest setting.

Wash the silverbeet well then cut out the thick white stem. Thinly slice the stems and finely shred the leaves, keeping them separate.

Heat the oil in a large ovenproof sauté pan. Add the silverbeet stems, spring onions, garlic and all the spices, season and cook gently until the onion is soft, adding a splash of water if the pan is too dry. Increase the heat and add the silverbeet leaves in batches, turning to wilt before adding the next lot.

Add the beans and stock and simmer for a few minutes until the silverbeet is tender. Scatter over the tomatoes, then cut each block of feta into 4 pieces and add to the pan. Sprinkle over a little paprika then drizzle everything with olive oil and a grind of pepper.

Place under the grill until the feta is soft and golden brown and the tomatoes are blistered.

To serve: Top with spoonfuls of yoghurt and serve with the grilled bread. Serves 4–6.