Two local farmstead cheeses, exceptional olive oil, and a handful of herbs turn one of the simplest appetizers into something worth lingering over.
There are recipes that ask us to transform an ingredient, and others that simply ask us to recognize how good the ingredient already is.
Marinated feta belongs firmly in the second category.
At its simplest, it is little more than cubes or generous pieces of cheese tucked into a jar with good olive oil, herbs, citrus peel, and a few spices. Give everything a little time together and the cheese becomes fragrant with the aromatics while the oil picks up the salty, tangy character of the feta.
But when the cheese and olive oil come from farmers you know, this seemingly simple recipe becomes considerably more interesting.
At Monterey Bay Certified Farmers Markets, we have two distinctly different cheeses that are particularly well suited to marinating: Schoch Family Farmstead’s Feta from Salinas and Rocky Oaks Goat Creamery’s Legacy, a fresh feta-style goat cheese.
And for the olive oil? We needn’t look beyond Belle Farms, whose estate-grown extra virgin olive oil is produced from Tuscan olive varieties in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains.
Together, they make a rather extraordinary little jar.
Two Cheeses, Two Personalities
Schoch Family Farmstead makes its feta from the milk of the family’s own Holstein cows. It is a brined white cheese, aged two to five months, with a sliceable, lightly crumbly texture and a bright, clean tang.
Rocky Oaks’ Legacy begins quite differently. Made from the milk of the creamery’s own goats, it is a fresh feta-style cheese that is dry salted and lightly aged. The flavor is gently tangy and lactic, with a fresh, clean quality and enough structure to slice or crumble.
This is actually part of the fun.
Make the same marinade with each cheese and you’ll end up with two slightly different experiences. Schoch’s cow’s-milk feta brings the familiar salty-tangy character we associate with traditional feta, while Legacy’s goat milk gives the marinade a fresher, more delicate personality.
Or put a little of both in the same serving dish and make it a tasting.
The Olive Oil Matters
Marinated feta is one of those preparations where mediocre olive oil has nowhere to hide.
There is no cooking, sauce, or elaborate seasoning to disguise it. The olive oil is one of the principal flavors, and you’ll eventually be spooning it over the cheese or mopping it up with bread.
Belle Farms’ estate-grown extra virgin olive oil is especially nice here. Their Tuscan EVOO is a harvest blend of five Tuscan olive varieties with a balanced flavor and delicate peppery finish. The olives are hand harvested and cold pressed within 24 hours of picking.
In other words, use the oil as an ingredient, not merely a preservative.
And don’t throw away a drop of it.
Once the cheese is gone, that beautifully flavored oil can be spooned over tomatoes, tossed with warm vegetables, drizzled over beans, or whisked into a vinaigrette.
The Formula
The following recipe is really a starting point. Once you’ve made it once, you’ll understand why marinated feta hardly needs a recipe at all.
Citrus peel contributes fragrance without making the cheese sharply acidic. Peppercorns add warmth. Chile adds just enough heat to wake everything up. Herbs can follow the season: thyme and rosemary are wonderful in fall and winter; oregano, basil, or savory are lovely during warmer months.
The one ingredient I would resist piling on is garlic. It can quickly dominate these delicate farmstead cheeses—and we want to taste the cheese and olive oil.
Farmers Market Marinated Feta
8 ounces Schoch Family Farmstead Feta or Rocky Oaks Goat Creamery Legacy, or a combination
Belle Farms extra virgin olive oil, enough to generously surround the cheese
2 to 3 wide strips lemon peel, removed with a vegetable peeler
2 small sprigs fresh thyme or another favorite herb
1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns, lightly crushed
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
1 small bay leaf, optional
Cut or gently break the cheese into generous bite-size pieces. Don’t make them too small; part of the pleasure is having substantial pieces of cheese that retain their texture.
Arrange the cheese in a small glass jar or shallow covered container.
Tuck the lemon peel and herbs between the pieces of cheese. Scatter over the peppercorns and red pepper flakes and add the bay leaf, if using.
Pour in enough Belle Farms olive oil to generously surround the cheese. It isn’t necessary to completely submerge every piece if you are using a shallow container; simply turn the cheese occasionally as it marinates.
Cover and refrigerate for several hours before serving. Overnight is even better.
Olive oil will become cloudy or partially solidify in the refrigerator. This is completely normal. Remove the cheese from the refrigerator shortly before serving and allow the oil to soften again.
Food-safety note: Because this recipe contains fresh herbs stored in oil, keep it refrigerated and use it within 4 days. Homemade herb-and-oil mixtures should not be stored at room temperature.
Now Comes the Good Part
Put the marinated cheese in a shallow bowl and spoon some of that fragrant olive oil over the top.
Add warm crusty bread and you could quite happily stop there.
But marinated feta is much more versatile than an appetizer. Scatter it over a tomato and cucumber salad; tuck it alongside roasted peppers; crumble it over warm lentils or beans; add it to a grain bowl; spoon it over roasted squash or sweet potatoes; pair it with melon, figs, pears, or grapes; or serve it as part of a farmers market-inspired cheese board with toasted nuts, olives, fresh and dried fruit, and good bread.
And then there is breakfast.
A piece of toasted sourdough, a few pieces of marinated feta, sliced tomato, and a spoonful of the herb-scented olive oil is a very convincing argument for eating cheese first thing in the morning.
Make It Your Own
Once you understand the basic formula—cheese + excellent olive oil + aromatics—you can follow the seasons.
Try orange peel with fennel seed and black pepper. Lemon with thyme and chile. Rosemary with crushed coriander. During tomato season, spoon the finished cheese and oil over thick slices of ripe tomatoes rather than adding tomatoes to the jar.
You can even divide a wedge of cheese between two small jars and season each differently.
But perhaps the most interesting experiment requires no additional ingredients at all.
Buy a piece of Schoch Family Farmstead Feta and a piece of Rocky Oaks Legacy. Marinate them separately with exactly the same Belle Farms olive oil and seasonings.
Then taste them side by side.
Sometimes the simplest recipe is also one of the best ways to discover just how much the milk, the animals, the cheesemaker—and the farm itself—can influence what we taste.
