Baked feta and tomato dip with garlic

Baked feta and tomato dip with garlic: creamy from the oven, with cherry tomatoes, olive oil, thyme and a gentle heat. Quick to make and full of flavour.

At a glance

• Serves 3
• Prep time: 5 min
• Cooking time: 25 min
• Total time: 30 min
• Calories: 280 kcal per serving
• Protein: 12 g
• Fat: 23 g
• Carbs: 6 g

Ingredients

• 200g sheep's cheese (feta)
• 300g cherry tomatoes
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 3 tbsp good-quality olive oil
• 1 sprig of thyme
• 1 pinch of chilli flakes
• 1 pinch of ground black pepper

Method

You’ll need: oven · baking dish

1. Preheat the oven to 200 °C (180 °C fan) and have a small ovenproof dish ready.
2. Place the sheep's cheese in the middle of the dish. Spread the cherry tomatoes around it and tuck the crushed garlic in between.
3. Drizzle everything with olive oil and season with thyme, black pepper and chilli flakes. You don't need salt – the feta brings enough of its own.
4. Bake in the oven at 200 °C for 20–25 min until the cherry tomatoes burst, their juice thickens and the sheep's cheese is soft and lightly browned.
5. Take the dish out and mash the sheep's cheese, soft garlic and cherry tomatoes together with a fork, stirring them into a creamy dip.
6. Serve warm straight away, for example with toasted sourdough bread, roasted vegetables or as a dip for potatoes.

Good to know

An oven dish like this is very little work and still comes to the table full of flavour. Warm, salty, soft and just right for sharing.

Swaps

Sheep's cheese → goat's cheese (also provides protein, often a little stronger in flavour; pasteurised in pregnancy); Cherry tomatoes → mixed baby plum tomatoes (similar nutrients, usually a little sweeter); Thyme → oregano (aromatic, a classic herb seasoning); Olive oil → avocado oil (heat-stable, mostly monounsaturated fats).

Allergens

Contains milk. Keep the heat mild for children; in pregnancy, serve it well heated through and make sure the cheese is made from pasteurised milk. The suggested sourdough bread contains gluten.