Feta-Honey Griddle Bread
I have often had the idea, when thinking of the ancients, that their food was, you know. Meh. Probably kind of boring, the equivalent of eating a bowl of wallpaper paste with some weak beer. And I know that's not true, logically. They figured out how to cure olives! (Which is no small feat, I tell you.) They invented wine! They ate cheese! Since at least the 8th century B.C., cheeses like feta were in process, and some of that? Went into a griddle bread.This recipe, for bread made of flour, honey, and feta cheese, rocked out with some oil in a hot pan, dates from about the second century B.C. I found a variation of this recipe that uses rice flour and feel free to go for it if you have gluten issues. I made my bread with regular AP flour.Here's what you need:
- 4 oz. feta cheese
- 2 Tablespoons of honey
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup flour (plus additional flour for rolling)
- Oil for the griddle/frying pan
Here's what you do:Put cheese, honey, and salt in a mixing bowl and mash them all together. It takes a little work to smash down the feta, but perseverance does the trick.
Add the half-cup of flour and mix until a ragged dough starts to form. This won't take very long. Turn it out onto your work surface, that you've already dusted with flour.
Knead, just for a few passes. It should come together pretty quickly and smooth out into a nice round ball. Bonus if you can get the dough to look like it's smiling at you.
Wrap your dough in plastic and let it rest for twenty minutes. You can just leave it on the countertop; you don't have to put in a proofing spot or the fridge or anything. Just let it sit.After twenty minutes, unwrap the dough and cut it into twelve equal-ish chunks.
And roll them out into thin discs about 3 inches in diameter.To cook, put them in a medium-hot pan with a little olive oil, and fry until golden and delicious. They should only take about a minute or so per side, so don't go wandering off.
And there you have it.The recipe that I worked off of suggested serving them warm with an additional drizzle of honey (which sounds amazing) or wrapped around something savory, like...roasted asparagus.Bonus recipe: Roasted asparagus!Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C). Take one bunch asparagus and snap off the woody ends. Place the asparagus in a roasting pan and toss with olive oil, salt, pepper, and the seasoning of your choice; today, I used herbes de Provence. When the oven is ready put the asparagus in for 20 minutes. While it's roasting, toss a handful of pine nuts (if you have them) into a dry pan and toast on your stovetop until they are golden-toasty and even more deliciously nutty, and then remove them from heat lest they start to burn. Which they will do, easily, so don't walk away while they're toasting. If you don't have pine nuts that's fine, your asparagus will be perfect anyway. And that's it. When the 20 minutes are up, remove the asparagus from the oven, wrap a few stalks in a piece of feta-honey griddle bread, and enjoy.
OMG THAT'S HECKIN' GOOD.