Baked Feta with Olives & Citrus
From a gorgeous new book 🎉
Pizza Friends, hello! And happy Friday.
A few weeks ago, Eden Grinshpan’s new cookbook, Tahini Baby, arrived at my door, and upon opening it, I felt instantly rapt. Think: roasted honey aleppo cherry tomatoes with labneh, whipped feta with crispy herbs and honey, light-as-air hummus with baharat mushrooms and preserved lemon relish.
The seasonings, the herbs, the flavors, the veg-forwardness of all of it spoke to me in the way Yotam Ottolenghi and Joshua McFadden cookbooks do. I dog-eared nearly every other recipe and made a few, too, namely the fast 'n' fresh harissa (which requires no roasting or peeling of peppers and tastes as fresh as advertised) and the above-pictured baked feta with olives and citrus, the recipe for which Eden’s publisher kindly let me share here.
It’s very simple, and if you’ve made other baked feta recipes, the process of this one will feel familiar: toss olives, fresh oregano, orange zest, fennel seeds and a sliced hot chile in a baking dish, nestle in a block of feta, drizzle with olive oil, bake until the feta and olives are soft; then finish under the broiler.
What separates this one from other baked feta recipes I’ve made is the final touch, a drizzle of honey post baking that so nicely complements the salty olives and feta. I find the honey-ed olives, which infuse with the heat of the chile during the baking, completely irrestitible and the whole ensemble especially delicious with good crusty bread*.
Friends, I’m headed to VT for Greek Easter with my family as soon as I hit publish on this post. The car is packed with loaves of bread and two skillets filled with feta and olives, ready to pop in the oven upon arrival. Wishing you all a wonderful weekend 👋
Eden Grinshpan’s Tahini Baby, out Tuesday, April 22, available for preorder now 🎉:
*Good Crusty Bread: A few weeks ago I noted I had been making Jim Lahey’s No-Knead bread with the Petra 0102 Flour I love so much. I’m still doing it but I find when I use a mix of 50% bread flour and 50% Petra, I get the best results:
It’s especially good toasted in a skillet with olive oil:
The Recipe: Baked Feta with Olives & Citrus
First, gather your ingredients:
Toss together the olives, oregano, orange zest, fennel seeds, and chile flakes (or chopped fresh hot chile) in a baking dish:
Nestle in the feta; then drizzle with olive oil.
Bake for 20 minutes; then broil for 5. Out of the oven, drizzle with honey and sprinkle with flaky sea salt (and some more fresh or dried oregano, if you wish):
Serve with crusty bread:
And eat immediately!
Love pizza and salad? Find recipes, tips, and tricks in Pizza Night 🍕🍕🥗🥗
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Looks so delicious! This might be the first recipe that I make from Eden’s fab new book!
Enjoy your Easter food....thank you for sharing so many delicious and inspiring recipes.....and for including your dogs in the newsletter. You are making me hungry!