Njeguški Cheese in Olive Oil 🧀 Montenegrin Meze 🇲🇪 (Sir u Ulju)

Description

Firm Njeguški-style white cheese cubed and packed with garlic, bay, and rosemary, then drowned in golden olive oil—salty, fragrant, irresistibly snackable. 🧄🌿

Hook: Ten minutes to assemble; the jar does the rest—deep flavor after a day, divine after a week. ⚡

Ingredients

• 🧀 Firm white brined cheese (Njeguški/sirene/feta), 2–3 cm cubes: 400 g (3 cups / 14.1 oz)
• 🫒 Extra-virgin olive oil (enough to submerge): 450–500 ml (2 cups / 17 fl oz)
• 🧄 Garlic, thin slices: 12 g (4 cloves / 0.4 oz)
• 🌿 Fresh rosemary sprigs (or dried): 2 small (or 1 tsp / 0.04 oz)
• 🌿 Bay leaves: 2
• 🌶️ Dried chili flakes (to taste): 0.5–1 g (¼–½ tsp / 0.02–0.04 oz)
• ⚫ Whole black peppercorns: 1 g (½ tsp / 0.04 oz)
• 🍋 Lemon zest strips (optional): 2–3
• 🧂 Salt: pinch if cheese is mild (≈1 g / ⅙ tsp)

Preparation

1. 1️⃣ Dry & pack: Pat cheese very dry. In a sterilized jar, layer 🧀 cubes with 🧄 garlic, 🌿 rosemary, 🌿 bay, ⚫ peppercorns, 🌶️ chili, and 🍋 zest (if using). Leave ~2 cm headspace.
2. 2️⃣ Cover with oil: Warm 🫒 oil just to lukewarm (not hot). Pour in to cover completely; tap jar and run a knife around the sides to release air bubbles. Top up so every piece is submerged by at least 1 cm.
3. 3️⃣ Seal & cure: Seal and refrigerate 24–48 h before serving (best after 3–7 days). Bring to cool room temp 20 min before eating. Always keep cheese submerged; add oil as needed.

Total Time

🕒 Prep: 10 min
⏳ Total: 10 min (plus cure 1–7 days)

Back to full recipe