Whipped Feta Dip
With vibrant, bright, and fresh flavors, this Whipped Feta Dip is topped with sugar snap peas that are tossed in a shallot vinagrette. The simplicity and elegance of this dish allow the ingredients to shine while giving you time to pull together the rest of your meal.
Prep Time5 minutes mins
Cook Time10 minutes mins
Total Time15 minutes mins
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: American
Diet: Vegetarian
Servings: 4 people
Cost: $9
Sugar Snap Pea Topping:
- 8 ounces (roughly 2 ½ cups) sugar snap peas
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt plus more for seasoning
Dressing:
- Zest and juice of 1 lemon (about 1 teaspoon of zest and 4 tablespoons of juice, divided)
- 1 small shallot peeled and finely minced
- 1 small garlic clove peeled and finely grated
- Kosher salt and pepper to taste
- ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil divided
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon honey
Whipped Feta:
- 8 ounces feta (in a block in brine)
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 3 tablespoons warm water
- 2 sprigs of mint torn
- Toasted crusty bread for serving
To Make the Sugar Snap Pea Salad:
Fill a saucepan with enough water to cover all your snap peas and bring it to a boil. Prepare an ice bath using a salad spinner. Place the ice in the bottom portion of the salad spinner, below the colander, and place the colander above the ice. Fill the vessel with enough water to cover the snap peas. Sprinkle a tablespoon of salt into the water.
When the water is boiling, add a tablespoon of salt and drop all the peas in and blanch for 1 minute. Immediately transfer the peas to the ice bath. Let them sit for 5 minutes to stop the cooking and to chill the peas. Strain out all the water from the salad spinner and toss out the ice. Give the peas a quick spin in the spinner before transferring them to a clean kitchen towel to pat them dry.
To Make the Dressing:
While the snap peas are cooling, in a bowl, whisk together the lemon zest and lemon juice, shallot, garlic, and a pinch of salt and a few cracks of black pepper. Let sit for 5 minutes. Then whisk in the olive oil, mustard, and honey.
To Make the Whipped Feta:
To a food processor, add the feta, cream cheese, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Pulse a few times to break up the feta further, then stream in the warm water and process for a minute or two, or until it’s very smooth. Transfer to a bowl, smoothing on the bottom with lots of swoops.
To Assemble:
Trim the ends of the peas and slice each pea on the bias, into long slivers. Toss all the sliced peas and the torn mint into the lemon dressing and give it a quick toss. Spoon it onto the whipped feta, drizzling the dressing all over. Finish the dish with lemon zest, some flaky salt, and some freshly cracked pepper. Serve immediately with toasted crusty bread.
Tips and Tricks:
- A salad spinner is your best friend. It makes quick work of the blanching and drying process.
- I find it easiest to trim the peas while I slice them, but if you prefer, you can trim them before you blanch them.
- Blanching time is important in this recipe. One minute is the optimal time, as it yields bright green, perfectly tenderized, yet crunchy sugar snap peas. If anything you can go under the blanching time, but don’t blanch for longer than a minute as the sugar snap peas cook quickly!
- Serving immediately is important because as the dish continues to sit, the lemon marinates the peas and they start to lose their brightness.
Calories: 105kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 29mg | Sodium: 3591mg | Potassium: 41mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 382IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 31mg | Iron: 1mg