Now that the holidays are rolling around I wanted to throw a few fun recipes your way – starting with this Crazy Feta Jalapeno Dip! It’s inspired by one of my favorite dishes at Cava Grill, a fast casual restaurant in the DC area and uses my all-time favorite olive oil from Ancient Foods.
So. Whether you’re traveling for the holidays (probably not, but who knows!), staying home, doing something with a small group, a social distance holiday meal or gathering…this dish is great for sharing or hoarding all to yourself because it’s just that delicious.
Speaking of holidays, if you’re looking for a great creative gift you can give someone this season (and a delish recipe to go with it) – I’ve got you covered. I hope they don’t read this post, because I’m planning to give my family some of my favorite Ancient Foods Greek Olive OIls, local honeys, and Greek teas!
Specifically for this recipe, we’re talking olive oil. Now that you know (see this post!) that big olive oil companies around the world can be very shady when it comes to olive oil, and a lot of the time, you’re not getting what you pay for, you want to make sure you’re buying from a high quality producer – and bonus points if you can support a smaller, family-owned brand with sustainable farming practices.
PS – Want to learn more about what the different labels and terms in the olive oil industry mean? Like “extra virgin” vs. “light”, “cold pressed”, filtered vs. unfiltered, and harvest date? Or if any of those even matter – and how companies can dupe you into buying fake, cheaply made olive oil? Check out this post: The Truth About Olive Oil.
So what’s a consumer to do? My best advice would be to buy from a small producer. As I mentioned in my Truth About Olive Oil post (above!), my hands down favorite is Ancient Foods (though you probably could’ve guessed that by now). The founders at Ancient Foods spent years searching and tasting different olives, honeys, and teas around the region, starting out by finding local Greek artisan producers to support and partner with who knew the land and its resources best. This partnership helps bring their traditions, history, and flavors (get in my belly!) from small towns directly to you – so you are directly supporting those small farmers by providing them with a direct investment in their production and villages, and has expanded to different regions around the world.
On a personal note – I also know the family from coaching their kids on my summer swim team since they were 8 and 10 years old. So of course I wanted to support their business, and it definitely doesn’t hurt that every single thing of theirs I’ve tried, from the olive oils from Crete and Sparta, to the Organic Thyme Greek Honey, is insanely delicious.
So let’s talk about this olive oil. My two favorites are the Keros Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Vordonia, Greece on the outskirts of Sparta (to tell them apart – the Keros is the green label!) and Edafos Extra Virgin Olive Oil (blue label!), which is from Sitia, on the island of Crete, Greece. The Keros has more of a peppery finish, where the Edafos has more of a fruity body (kind of like wine tasting!) and a smoother finish. I use them both interchangeably, just depending on the other flavors I’m putting in my dishes!
For the crazy feta recipe, you could use any olive oil – but I love using the Keros, with the more peppery finish, to pair with the jalapenos in this dish. Aside from this recipe, my favorite way to use them is by drizzling the olive oil over a finished cooked meal (or salad) so you can get the most flavor out of the oil!
If you’re interested (or looking for holiday gift ideas!) Find out more about Ancient Foods, their family history, and their delicious olive oils here! PS – they have a 20% off coupon on their website right now when you sign up for their newsletter! You can also check them out on Instagram @livetobeancient or www.ancientfoods.com .
- 1 brick of feta cheese, about 8oz
- 1 jalapeno pepper*
- ¼ cup Ancient Foods olive oil + 1 tsp, divided
- 1 head of garlic, raw
- zest of half a lemon
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice (or ½ lemon, juiced)
- 1 tsp onion powder
- salt and pepper
- for the roasted garlic: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Chop the top off the garlic bulb and drizzle it with a teaspoon of olive oil. Wrap it in foil and stick it on a baking sheet, then roast for 25-30 minutes, or until garlic is golden in color.
- At the same time, brush the jalapeno(s) with olive oil and add a small pinch of salt. Put them on the baking sheet with the garlic and allow to bake until charred - check them every few minutes so you don’t roast them to a crisp!
- Once the garlic and jalapenos are done, remove them from oven and set aside to cool. Once jalapenos are cooled, cut them in half, remove the skins, and discard the seeds (unless you want it really spicy). Dice the peppers and don’t touch your eyes!
- Use your hands to break the feta into small crumbles in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Stir in the diced jalapeno, ¼c olive oil, lemon juice and zest, and onion powder. Squeeze the garlic out of its head directly into the feta dip bowl and stir. Use a fork or wire whisk to mash everything together.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve with chopped scallions on top. Use it as a dip for crackers, veggies, put it in a rice bowl, on top of proteins, however your heart desires!
Recipe inspired by Cava!
PS – stay tuned for more about Greek honey, and and about how just like the olive oil industry, the honey industry does some shady stuff too…it’s time to find out what’s in your honey and how to make sure you’re getting a *real* product! (hint: it’s not the stuff in the bear bottle at the grocery store.)
