Friday, December 12, 2008

Sauteed Feta Cheese with Parsley, Raisin, Caper & Pine Nut Sauce for Tyler Florence Fridays


It was a fun and crazy week and now it is Friday and time again for Tyler Florence Fridays.  I wanted an easy, low effort, big flavor pay off for dinner last night and Tyler's recipes for Sauteed Feta Cheese topped with a Parsley, Raisin, Caper and Pine Nut Sauce from Eat This Book, sounded like just what I needed. The cheese was inspired by a marinated sheep's cheese he ate in France.  The sauce is one of several delicious sounding Fresh Chopped-Herb Sauces that Tyler has in the book that he uses with different dishes


Sauteed Feta Cheese
Eat This Book,  Tyler Florence
30 minutes / Serves 6-8

1 large block (1 1/2 lbs) feta cheese
1 cup all-purpose flour
extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 lemon
1 recipe Parsley, Raisin, Caper and Pine Nut Sauce (see recipe below)

Cut the feta into 1/2-inch thick slices.  Put the flour on a large plate.  Put a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and coat with a 2-count of oil. When the oil is smoking, dredge the cheese slices as will comfortably fit in the pan.  Brown about 1 minute on each side, until golden brown.  Squeeze some lemon juice over them, then use a spatula to carefully transfer to a platter. Repeat with the rest of the cheese, adding a little more oil to the pan if you need to.  Spoon the chopped herb sauce over the cheese and serve.   


Parsley, Raisin, Caper, and Pine Nut Sauce
Eat This Book, Tyler Florence
Makes about 1 cup

1/4 cup golden raisins, coarsely chopped
3 Tbsp capers, drained and coarsely chopped
3 Tbsp pine nuts, coarsely chopped
3 anchovy fillets, finely chopped
1/2 bunch of fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped (1/2 cup)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Stir up all ingredients in a bowl and season with salt and pepper.

The sauce was the favorite part of the dish for me.  Lest you eyeball the list of ingredients and say "Gross!  Anchovy and Raisins!?!", let me assure you it is excellent--salty, savory, sweet and tangy all at once. I am not a fan of whole anchovies but since they are finely chopped, they are mixed in and all you get is the great savory flavor. I would use the sauce of veggies, pasta and fish. The cheese is very good too. My trial and error tips are use a feta that is pressed tightly together, cut the slices thick and make sure the pan is hot enough and you have enough oil.  My first two in the pan, I had some challenges and lost some of the flour coating but I got the hang of it.  I served it on baguette slices  but it would also be nice over salad greens.  I liked the combo of the feta and sauce and would make the dish or either component again.  


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7 comments:

  1. Looks good - I like anchovies so those aren't a problem for me. It's the feta that would do me in!!

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  2. I love anchovies, feta and raisins, it all sounds great to me!
    Pile it on greens and a baguette - perfect.

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  3. I guess I would use anchovy paste since I am not a fan of those tiny bones. Sounds like another winning recipe :)

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  4. Oh my! Who would have thought that you could make fried cheese even better? Yum!

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  5. wow! that looks delicious and very new for me!
    first time to ur blog and it looks nice!
    visit my blog when u find time and join in the sweet event going in my blog!

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  6. It has never occured to me to cook feta cheese, but this looks so gosh darn delicious!

    Love your coq au vin too. The first time I made that recipe was for French class when I was a sophmore in high school. My mother was horrified when I asked her to buy me a bottle of wine.

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  7. That looks really delicious! I have to make this at some point for the round-up!

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