Cassandra Mechura-arkiv – Food Pharmacy

Cassandra Mechura

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Baked Feta With Turmeric, Plum Tomatoes And Roasted Chickpeas

If you haven’t been completely encapsulated in your Corona hermit shell for the last few months then perhaps you noticed the food trend that had quite the moment on social media. Baked Feta (as the title already gave away).

The simplicity of it almost makes me feel guilty that I’ve never thought of it before myself. After enough instagram scrolling, it’s brainwashing effects made me feel like a curious cat watching a fish tank, and as any cat would… I eventually swatted that fish. And it was worth it!

Endless combos

It can be the star of the show as a main or a light and bright side dish. The version that I am sharing today was as delicious warm as it was cold the day after. I haven’t tried all of my visions for this concept yet but they feel almost endless…

– asparagus, lemon and mint
– fennel, chive and pistachios
-blueberry, jalapeno and honey
– leek, sweet peas and arugula

With all of the spring and summer ingredients available to us now the list could go on and on. But in short, this dish is versatile and comes together almost effortlessly. The turmeric and chili recipe below went well with some quinoa pilaf for dinner and the cold leftovers were almost tastier in a lettuce wrap wrap the next day.

The hidden superfood in this dish

MCT oil is another hot topic item that’s been trending in the health space for a while now and for good cause. Who wouldn’t want to consume something with such a long list of touted benefits – anti-inflammatory, energy and mood boosting, weight loss promoting and cardiovascular protective to name a few. You may have noticed though that there is no MCT oil in the recipe below, so where are those magical medium chain triglycerides (MCTs)?

Feta is full of these sought after fats. Feta and other goat cheese actually rank high on the list for top foods containing MCTs. While it may not be as concentrated as a MCT oil, it’s still a great whole food way to boost our bodies with beneficial fats. And sometimes I think that sharing these simple types of facts with people is important.

Sometimes, amongst all the various health books and headlines it can feel like – if we just get all of the right super supplements, we could morph into the next Marvel character. But what is often overlooked is that these dietary supplements stem from whole food originally. And while supplements can help you to reach the pinnacle of the healthiest you, you can’t out supplement a bad diet. The base of your health pyramid should be a wide variety of whole foods, and knowing what kinds of nutrients are in your foods helps to feel good about what you are putting

in your body instead of being anxious about whether or not it abides by a specific dietary construct. So go ahead and get you some feta and get to baking it, your brain and your taste buds will thank you!

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Baked Feta With Turmeric, Plum Tomatoes And Roasted Chickpeas

  • By : Cassandra Mechura c/o Food Pharmacy
  • Servings : 24 1x
Scale

Ingredients

3 Tbsp Olive oil

1 package Cherry or Plum tomatoes

1 block of Organic Feta

1 Red onion or 2 shallots, sliced

1 Tbsp Honey

1⁄2 tsp chili flakes

1⁄2 tsp turmeric powder or fresh grated

1⁄2 tsp crushed coriander seeds (or sub 1⁄4 tsp cumin powder) Sea salt & Fresh cracked pepper

1 can of Chickpeas, drained and rinsed

Handful of fresh chopped Parsley

Garnish & Sides Suggestions

Lettuce leaves, Quinoa (try out my quinoa pilaf) or your favorite flatbread, it’s even good alongside some sunny side up eggs as a lovely weekend brunch.

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F.
  2. Drizzle a bit of olive oil in a baking dish and place the block of feta in the center.
  3. Scatter the rest of the ingredients (except for the chickpeas and parsley) around and over the feta.
  4. Drizzle everything with a bit more olive oil and bake in the center of the oven for about 20-25 minutes or until the feta begins to get a hint of color.
  5. Scatter the chickpeas round the feta cheese and place back in the oven for 5-10 minutes until they are warm and slightly roasted.
  6. Remove from the oven and give everything a gentle stir to incorporate the baked feta into the roasted veggies. Garnish with chopped parsley and enjoy either warm or chilled with one of the suggested sides.

This is a guest post. Any opinions expressed are the writer’s own.

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