BAKED FETA WITH CHERRY TOMATOES AND GARLIC TOAST

We have barely done any entertaining since our baby was born almost a year ago and I have forgotten how much I enjoy it. In the past year I think I can count on one hand the nights I have stayed up post 9pm! However last night we had our friends Hard and Fran round for supper and so I decided to cook a couple of new dishes. The first one being this baked feta which I did as a starter / canapé whilst we had some drinks. The recipe is from Olive magazine and it was very easy and it took about 25 minutes.

Ingredients for 4 people as a canapé or 2 people as a starter:

Olive oil
200g cherry tomatoes, halved
200g feta
4 slices of sourdough
1 clove of garlic, halved
A drizzle of balsamic vinegar
A few leaves of oregano, chopped (I didn't have some so just used dried leaves)

Preheat the oven to 200C / 180C fan / gas mark 6.

Drizzle a little oil in the bottom of a oven proof dish and then add the tomatoes, the feta and season. Add a dash more olive oil and then cover with foil. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

Just before it is ready, toast the sourdough, rub with the cut side of the garlic (you don't need to rub too hard - a little goes a long way), and then drizzle with a little more olive oil.

Remove the feta from the oven, drizzle with some balsamic vinegar (I was a little heavy handed here) and sprinkle with some oregano.

If you are into presentation, I would definitely recommend fresh oregano leaves as it will make the dish look so much better. Even though I had used dry herbs, this was still mouthwateringly tasty and I am very pleased to say everyone enjoyed it. It was a little messy to eat - my husband Pascal suggested next time I use bigger slices of toast - but I don't think it mattered. According to my daughter, making a mess is a sign of food appreciation!

This would also make a great lunch and you could serve it with a green salad.