feta, beet, buns

from greenfeast spring/summer

these were delicious sandwiches with a giant slab of feta. my main gripe is that putting soft, crumbly feta on a ridged grill pan to cook and expecting it to come out in one piece like the photo in the cookbook is actually pretty dumb. i still did it and ended up with feta mush, which was delicious, but still a pain. not to mention a lot got stuck to the grill pan. i would strongly recommend either subbing halloumi for feta or using a flat cast iron to grill instead. that said, we loved the cool yogurt and beet mixture, it made for a tasty and hearty sandwich with a large slab of salty feta and lots of greens.

7 oz/200g feta

olive oil

2 beets, small

1⁄2 cup/100g plain yogurt

2 large soft buns

a small handful of pea shoots,

a handful of arugula

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

6 mint leaves

Warm a griddle pan (this is where I would use an un-ridged cast iron) . Slice the block of feta in half horizontally to create two rectangular slabs. Brush them with olive oil, then place on the hot griddle and allow to brown lightly. Turn and brown the other side.

Remove and set aside.

While the feta is on the griddle, peel and coarsely grate the beets into a bowl. Season lightly with salt and black pepper, then add the vinegar and toss to coat. Shred the mint and add to the beet together with the yogurt. Fold together.

Split the buns and toast them on the cut sides. Spread the bottom halves with a little of the mint yogurt from the beet, add the pea shoots and arugula, then place the feta on top. Add a generous amount of the beet, cover with the top bun halves, and serve with any remaining beet.