FfNl: Seared Feta

I bet you thought I forgot all about FfNl. I didn't I swear. It turns out I have this little thing called work that occupies a bit of time, perhaps you've heard of it? Also I didn't want you to worry overmuch about my food obsession. Anyway, today's edition of FfNl concerns the delicious looking item below:

What you see there is tasty, salty, delicious seared feta cheese. I made it for redemption. My first run-in with this species ended not so wonderfully. It may surprise you, but I am a rather temperamental chef. My first attempt at feta searing involved a pretty Donna Hay recipe, a sticky non-stick pan, not enough heat from an electric element, and a bit of over-ambition. The result was me throwing cheese, insulting my mother and generally ruining an otherwise lovely evening. Luckily for me, my mom is a forgiving soul, and she still speaks to me, even if I can be a really sucky daughter.

So earlier this week I bought more feta. It was a chance to face my newest cooking nemesis (my oldest is perhaps tapioca pudding, which is rather ironic, given how much I love it). If it works, searing feta is a pretty simple thing that tastes divine and makes for an incredibly attractive salad. Lucky for me it worked this time.

I grabbed a non-stick pan and put it on high heat on my gas stove. And I waited until it was hot, really hot. Then I placed slices of feta, slices that had been blotted to remove excess water and brushed lightly with olive oil, on that hot, hot pan. Sure enough it started sizzling and not melting into a heap! It is perhaps possible that my smoke detector might have gone off at this point, causing me to run like an idiot into my bedroom to get it to stop beeping (just maybe). The tricky part was flipping the pieces- it definitely required my sharpish, metal, definitely not recommend for non-stick pans spatula to keep the crispy seared goodness attached to the rest of the cheese. But I was careful, I swear, so that the non-stick remained as such. And Viola! Lovely seared feta.

I put it on top of some balsamic sautéed zucchini with tomatoes, which honestly, was a little lackluster. That seared feta, though? That was a work of art. Maybe in a decade or so I'll try making it again for my mother.