Chef Alexandros' Almond-Encrusted Feta Appetizer

I had so much fun with last week's mezé kick that I decided to take it one step further and dare to replicate Chef Alexandros' Feta Appetizer.  Remember young Chef Alexandros Pavlopoulos from Ena restaurant in Dubai?  We had written about him just after the new year but hadn't yet tried the recipe he shared with us.  It turns out that it's a lot easier than you would think, coming from a gourmet chef!  So give it a try and bring a warm touch to your mezé platter, or serve it on a dish with Alexandros' pomegranate reduction for a tasty and elegant dish.  If you don't have time for the reduction, try using a bit of the syrup from one of the Citrus Scent of Memory spoon sweets for a similarly sweet and tangy touch.

One note on feta - most of what we get in the States is made from cow's milk and is "Greek-Style" feta.  Take the time to find the real stuff from Greece, made from sheep milk and with a much more authentic flavor.  Most specialty deli stores should stock it.

Almond-Encrusted Feta with Pomegranate Reduction

Ingredients

500 ml Olive Oil - we used Tragano Greek Organics EVOO, 

1 7-8oz slice of Greek feta cheese

1/2 cup water

2 eggs, lightly beaten

3 oz of bread crumbs

2.5 oz of flour Flour

3 oz sliced blanched almonds, slightly chopped (not too fine!)

1/2 cup of Pomegranate Juice

 1/4 cup of honey

Preparation

Cut the feta slice in quarters, from corner to corner, creating four small triangles.

Set out five little bowls with the water, eggs, flour, bread crumbs, and almond flakes, all in a row, in this order.

Dip each feta triangle in each of the bowls in the order listed above so that the triangle is well-coated.

Place them on a sheet of wax paper and put in the freezer for a couple of hours for the coating to set.  

In the meantime, simmer the pomegranate juice in a sauce pan over low heat until it is reduced in half.  Remove from the heat and mix the honey.

When you are ready to serve, heat the olive oil in a frying pan until it's nice and hot and fry your feta triangles until they are golden on both sides.  Drain on a paper towl and then move to an individual plate or platter, drizzling with your pomegranate reduction.  Enjoy!