Baked Feta with Honey and Thyme (Feta Psíti)

La storia di questo piatto

Feta psíti is a taverna dish of Greece, where the brined white block meets the heat of the oven and comes out gilded at the edges. The honey-and-thyme version is a modern variant, and no source pins down when it first arrived on the table.

Ingredienti

• 200 g Greek feta in a block
• 2 tablespoons Thyme or wildflower honey
• 2 tablespoons Extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon (leaves) Fresh thyme
• 1 teaspoon Sesame seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon Chili flakes
• 3 pieces Greek pita bread (or other soft bread)

Preparazione

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C, in static mode, and let it heat up well: the feta must find it already nice and hot, otherwise the cheese sweats instead of browning. While the oven heats, put the sesame seeds in a dry small pan over medium heat and shake it often. They are ready when they turn golden and you smell toasted hazelnut, just 2-3 minutes: stay right beside them, because they burn in an instant.
2. Place the whole block of feta in a small baking dish without cutting it: it must remain a single piece, so the outside heats up and takes on color while the inside stays creamy. Pour over the extra virgin olive oil and spread it with the back of a spoon over the entire surface, with a light touch. Then sprinkle half of the fresh thyme, the chili flakes and half of the freshly ground black pepper.
3. Put the dish on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes. The feta is ready when the edges just turn golden and puff up a little, while the center stays soft and gives way under the pressure of a spoon without melting like a cream. If after 12 minutes the edges are still pale, give it another 2-3 minutes, but check often: between soft and liquefied the step is short.
4. Take it out and, with the feta still hot, immediately drizzle the honey over the entire surface: the heat will melt it just enough, giving it that amber gloss that says the dish has turned out well. Finish with the remaining thyme, the toasted sesame seeds and the rest of the black pepper, freshly ground at the last moment. The warm sweetness of the honey against the fresh, slightly bitter note of the thyme is the heart of this dish.
5. Warm the pita bread for a minute, in a pan or in the same still-hot oven, just long enough to make it soft and lukewarm, then cut it into triangles. Bring the feta to the table in its baking dish, still hot, with the bread alongside for mopping up. Taste a small piece on its own first to feel the balance between the saltiness of the feta and the sweetness of the honey: if you like, add another drizzle of honey.