Whipped Feta & Goat’s Cheese with Roasted Grapes and Beetroot, Pomegranate Molasses, served with Dukkah and Crostini

Words by Rupert Cooper

A seasonal menu to celebrate spring, designed for the Porthleven Food Festival by Chef Rupert Cooper of Philleigh Way Cookery School and Cove Café.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

Bunch of beetroot

Small bunch purple or black grapes

100g pack of feta cheese,

Small round of goat’s cheese

1 clove garlic

1 tbsp pomegranate molasses

1tbsp of dukkah

Bread for toasting (a few slices of a small baguette)

1tbsp balsamic vinegar

Thyme

Rosemary

Method

Preheat the oven to 190°C.

Start by peeling and chopping the beets into halves or quarters. Then drizzle with oil, season, and add the herbs to a tray or parcel of tin foil. Roast for 15-20 minutes or until they will take a knife.

Put the feta, goat’s cheese and garlic into a food processor with a generous amount of black pepper. Then blitz with a drizzle of olive oil. Taste and season to liking.

Toast your bread.

Once the beets have cooked, heat a frying pan and add the beets to colour up generously, add the molasses and remove from the heat.

Serve the beets hot or cold on a bed of the whipped feta. Drizzle with balsamic and a sprinkling of dukkah.

A great sharing starter!