Salty brined cheese cubes tucked with garlic, chili, and herbs in golden oil—instant meze with bread or olives. 🫒🍋
Hook: 10-minute prep; let it sit and the jar does the work. ⚡
Ingredients
🧀 White brined cheese (sirene/feta), cut in 2 cm cubes: 400 g (3 cups / 14.1 oz)
🧄 Garlic, thin slices: 8 g (2 cloves / 0.3 oz)
🌶️ Fresh red chili, thin rings (to taste): 5 g (½ small / 0.18 oz)
🌿 Fresh rosemary, small sprig: 1 (≈3 g / 0.1 oz)
🌿 Bay leaves: 2
🌿 Dried oregano: 2 g (1 tsp / 0.07 oz)
🍋 Lemon zest, wide strip: 1
⚫ Black peppercorns: 3 g (1 tsp / 0.04 oz)
🫗 Olive or sunflower oil (to cover): 300–350 ml (1¼–1½ cups / 10–12 fl oz)
🧂 Salt: pinch, only if cheese is mild (≈1 g / pinch)
Preparation
1️⃣ Pat cheese cubes very dry with paper towels.
2️⃣ In a clean 500 ml jar, layer cheese with garlic, chili, herbs, zest, oregano, and peppercorns.
3️⃣ Warm the oil just to lukewarm (optional, helps infuse), then pour to fully cover; tap jar to release air bubbles.
4️⃣ Seal and rest 30 min at room temp (or refrigerate up to 7 days). Bring to room temp before serving.
5️⃣ Serve with warm bread, olives, or as part of a meze board.
Total Time
🕒 Prep: 10 min
⏳ Total: 10 min
Nutritional Value
🔋 Energy: ~180 kcal
💪 Protein: ~7 g
🧈 Fat: ~15 g
🍞 Carbohydrates: ~1 g
🧂 Sodium: ~450 mg
Advice
Dry cheese thoroughly—water clouds the oil and dulls flavor; full submersion keeps cubes fresh and evenly seasoned.
Why it works
Oil extracts and carries fat-soluble aromas from herbs, zest, and chili into the cheese; gentle time-in-jar seasons from the outside in without cooking.
Twist
Smoky ajvar note: add 1 tsp smoked paprika and a strip of roasted red pepper to the jar for a subtle, sweet-smoky backbone.
Status
Five ingredients, huge payoff—sir u ulju that upgrades any meze spread. #grannyzen #balkanappetizer
Share & Print
Rate & react
5.0 / 50 votes
Diff avg: –/50 short • 0 right • 0 long0 easy • 0 hard
Comments