Baked feta & burst tomato dipwith Savina Jalapeño
One pan, six ingredients, and a jar of chile crisp doing the heavy lifting. Everything roasts together until the tomatoes burst and the feta turns creamy.
Baked feta is one of those dishes that looks like it took planning and takes almost none. A block of feta, two pints of cherry tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, and thirty minutes in a hot oven. The tomatoes collapse into a jammy sauce, the feta softens into something you can stir with a spoon, and the whole pan becomes dip.
What it usually needs is texture and a little heat. That is where the jar comes in. Savina Jalapeño goes in twice: two spoonfuls stirred through before roasting, and more spooned over the top right before serving, so nothing loses its crunch.
Feta is salty and tomatoes turn sweet as they roast, so the dish needs something savory in the middle to hold it together. Jalapeño is balanced enough to sit between the two without shouting, and the olive-oil base melts straight into the pan juices. The crisp bits on top are the only crunch in the bowl.
Baked feta & burst tomato dip
Ingredients
1 block (8 oz) feta, patted dry2 pints cherry or grape tomatoes4 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled3 tbsp olive oil3 tbsp Savina Jalapeño chile crisp, plus more for serving1 tsp dried oreganoBlack pepper, to tasteA handful of fresh basil or oregano leavesWarm pita, crusty bread, or thick chips, for scoopingInstructions
The chile crisp that roasts in the dish gives you flavor; the spoonful you add at the end gives you crunch. Skip the second addition and you lose the texture that makes this worth making. Shake the jar well before both.
Güero keeps it mild enough for a table with kids at it. Serrano brightens the tomatoes and is the one to reach for if you like a livelier bite. Habanero turns the same dish into something bolder. No goat cheese in the house? A block of feta is the point, but thick labneh works.
