Butternut squash and feta dip
Pan-cooked pumpkin slices get a fluffy bed of whipped feta dip. The dish is finished with a wonderful chili honey, which you'll want to drizzle on double the amount.
- 1 myskikurpitsa (n. 600 g)
- 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
- 25g butter
- 2 dl water
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 200 g feta
- 1 dl cream
- 4 tablespoons light tahini
- 200 g cream cheese
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper from a mill
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 red chili
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 dl honey
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Let the feta for the dip warm to room temperature well in advance.
- Halve the pumpkin, remove the seeds and cut the pumpkin into large chunks. Crush the coriander seeds in a mortar. Heat the butter in a large frying pan, add the coriander seeds and pumpkin chunks. Roast for 5 minutes, turn the chunks and roast for another 5 minutes.
- Lower the heat and pour the water into the pan. Simmer the pumpkins, covered, for 15–20 minutes, turning the slices a couple of times. The pumpkins are ready when they are soft and the liquid has boiled away.
- Make the feta dip and chili honey while the pumpkin is simmering. Crumble the feta into the bowl of a hand blender or food processor. Add the cream and tahini, and quickly puree until smooth. Do not blend for too long or the mixture will curdle. In another bowl, beat the cream cheese with a whisk until smooth. Add the feta puree, oil and pepper and beat until smooth.
- Make chili honey. Peel the garlic. Slice the garlic and chili. Sauté them in oil in a pan for 1–2 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and heat until the honey is warm and liquid.
- Squeeze the lemon juice over the ripe pumpkin in a pan, bring the juice to a boil and season the pumpkins with salt. Spread the feta dip on a plate, add the pumpkins on top and finish with warm chili honey.
Do you still remember whipped feta dip? The hit dip that went viral a couple of summers becomes even better when you add sweet, fiery chili honey to it.
In this recipe, the feta dip is seasoned with tahini, which gives it the right nuttiness. It's not a good idea to beat the feta dip for too long, otherwise it will curdle. The chili honey is made in a small frying pan in a few minutes and gets its flavor from garlic, fresh chili, and lemon juice.
The combination of feta dip and chili honey is heavenly. Pan-cooked sweet pumpkin is a great side dish. The pumpkin slices cook in a pan in half an hour.
