June 25, 2008

Random recipe: Greek Cheese Torta

A few years ago, an acquaintance brought an appetizer like this to a cookout at my friend's house. I can remember being awestruck over how beautiful it was. I could only assume that she had spent a great deal of time putting it together.

As it turns out, this Greek cheese torta is actually quite simple to prepare. I recently found a similar recipe in some Pampered Chef literature that might even be easier than the original version I had.

The white cheeses, green spinach and pistachios and bright red sun-dried tomatoes make for a lovely, colorful dish (Sorry I don't have a picture). And of course, with all those ingredients, the flavor just explodes in your mouth.

If you're heading to a cookout this weekend or next and you want to bring something a little different than the usual deviled eggs (not that I don't adore deviled eggs), check out this recipe.

I always recommend that folks read recipes all the way through before they begin. With this one, you'll see when you read it that the ingredients are going to be packed into a small to medium glass bowl, then inverted onto a platter to form a nice, round mound. You could make the torta ahead of time and leave it in the bowl until you're ready to invert and serve.

Greek Cheese Torta

1 loaf (16 oz.) French baguette
Olive oil
1 package (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and pressed dry
2 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
2 Tbsp. Greek rub or Greek seasoning (if you can't find a ready-blended version, I've attached a recipe below)
2 packages (4 oz. each) crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and patted dry
3 Tbsp. shelled pistachios

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut baguette into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Arrange bread in a single layer on a baking sheet. Brush with olive oil and bake 10-12 minutes, or until bread is golden brown. Remove to cooling rack and cool completely.

2. Line a small colander with paper towels. Place spinach into colander. Wrap paper towels around spinach and press until dry. Place cream cheese in a medium bowl and microwave on high for 30 seconds or until softened. Stir in spinach and Greek seasoning and mix well. Add feta cheese and stir until well-blended. Finely dice sun-dried tomatoes.

3. Line a small- to medium-sized glass bowl with plastic wrap. Spoon in one-third of the cheese mixture and spread evenly into the bottom of the bowl. Top with tomatoes, forming an even layer. Spread the remaining cheese mixture over the tomatoes.

4. To serve, invert torta onto a serving platter and remove plastic wrap. Coarsely chop pistachios and press onto the top of torta. Serve with toasted baguette slices.

Adapted from The Pampered Chef

Greek Seasoning Blend:

2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. dried oregano
1 1/2 tsp. onion powder
1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. beef-flavored bouillon granules
1 tsp. dried parsley flakes
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

Source: Homecooking.about.com

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• Posted by Lindsey Nair in Recipes
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