– Click here for this recipe in Dutch -> Feta spread met amandelen –
It is the start of day 4 of my month without sugars and refined carbohydrates, and it’s going great! In the end I feel much better when I eat real food, so why do I fall in the same traps again every time and I find myself with a donut in one hand and a piece of pizza in my other hand, while I stand in line at the Starbucks to order a grande iced soy latte?
Or well, so to speak…
Since Monday I follow the ‘Pure Food Challenge’, something that I, together with my sister Karen, came up with. It hasn’t been a problem for me to switch to unprocessed foods, once I’ve decided that I should eat healthy again I can easily push that reset button.
In fact, I walked through the grocery store this week, and I was again completely disgusted with all the processed products with added ingredients. Especially the candy aisle with kids choosing fake foods, grossed me out 🙁
While just last week I stood there chosing which candy I would buy to take with me to the picnic on the beach.
And now I read ingredients labels on the automatic pilot before I put a product in my cart, while lately I haven’t even thought about looking at it.
Weird how that goes, eh?
Looking for healthier snacks, I suddenly thought of the chunky feta dip with almonds that I made for New Year’s Eve -oh dear, it’s been 8 (!!!) months ago, wow!- and that everyone liked. I made the feta dip based on ‘Peynir Ezmesi’, a spicy spread made of Turkish white cheese, a recipe I found on the blog of Eslem, a fellow Dutch food blogger who writes a blog called My Mixed Kitchen (Dutch only).
You can use this feta dip served with toast and crackers, but wheat is now a no-go area to me. So this month I eat this as a snack or lunch on some cucumber slices or homemade almond crackers.
The longer you keep this feta dip in the fridge, the better the taste will be of course. I kept mine in a sealed jar in the fridge for at least a week, and right now I’m going to make a new batch!
It’s such an easy and great dip, I really love the chopped almonds that gives it a chunky bite. The sweet roasted garlic gives a perfect flavor to the salty feta.
So go ahead, dip away!
An easy and delicious chunky feta dip with almonds, your guests will love it!
Ingredients
- 8.5 oz feta (full fat)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 Tbsp roasted garlic*
- 1 tsp tomato paste
- ¼ cup almonds, chopped
- black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place the feta in a bowl and break it up using a fork.
- Add the olive oil, roasted garlic, tomato paste and chopped almonds and stir to combine.
- Add some extra olive oil if you want a creamier texture and add black pepper to taste.
Notes
* To roast the garlic:
-Preheat the oven to 375°F.
-Cut out a squared piece of aluminum foil of 10” and brush with some butter.
-Cut off the top off the garlic bulb and fold it in the foil. Lay on a baking sheet and roast for 45-60 minutes in the oven. The garlic will get soft and golden brown
-Unwrap the garlic and let cool off.
-Once cool, push the roasted garlic out of its skin. Mash it with a fork until you have a garlic paste. This will be about one tablespoon.
And while you're at it, why don't you roast some extra garlic bulbs? I always keep a jar of roasted garlic paste in the fridge and I use it for several things, like this Roasted garlic and lentil soup
Enjoy!
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