GLUTEN-FREE FIG, FETA AND PICKLED LEMON CRACKERS
Finger-food can be a great opportunity to create small morsels with big flavours; a taste-testing arena in which a single bite is all we have, often, to please or impress. But how good/interesting/mystifying/satisfying can one mouthful be?
Well, that’s one factor in the appeal of these Fig, Feta and Pickled Lemon Crackers. The combination of flavours and textures packs a real punch.
We served a platter full of them pre-dinner recently and they disappeared in a flash.
Fortunately, the recipe makes much more Fig Relish than is needed, and perhaps more Pickled Lemon too, so a second round need never be too far away.
And P.S. the relish, refrigerated, keeps and keeps too.
Jan
FIG, FETA AND PICKLED LEMON CRACKERS
Makes 24
Heat oven to 175°C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
Mix up a batch of our Crunchy Buckwheat Cracker dough. Halve it and roll it between 2 sheets of baking paper to 2mm thick. Cut rounds 7mm in diameter and bake according to the recipe. Re-roll the scraps and cut into rounds. Repeat with remaining pastry.
Or use your favourite round savoury biscuits as a base, and move straight onto the toppings, which can be prepared well ahead of serving.
Fig Relish
250 gm dried figs, (soft skinned if possible) trimmed and finely diced
3 pitted prunes, finely chopped
½ medium red onion, finely diced
1 clove garlic, minced
100 gm raw sugar
2 teaspoons ground mixed spice
60 ml balsamic vinegar
125 ml water
Salt and pepper to taste
2 teaspoons lemon juice
Place all ingredients except lemon juice in a saucepan and bring to the boil.
Simmer over a low heat, stirring occasionally, for around 20 minutes, until the mixture is reduced to jam consistency.
Stir in lemon juice and combine well. Cool and refrigerate until needed. This recipe will probably make more relish than you need but it keeps well, like jam.
Bring to room temperature to serve.
Pickled Lemon
1-2 lemons, halved lengthways, pips removed and thinly sliced
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
Place lemon slices in a flat dish and sprinkle with sugar and salt to cover. Turn lemon slices over occasionally to macerate well. Pickle will keep for a day or two.
Creamed Feta
Place 100gm Persian Feta in a small container and mix with a couple of teaspoons of the oil it is stored in until smooth and spreadable.
(Fresh goats cheese mixed with olive oil will do the trick if you have no Persian Feta.)
To Serve
Using a good straight knife or a small spatula, cover half a cracker with a layer of Fig Relish. Spread the other side with Creamed Feta and place on a serving tray.
When all the crackers are coated, lift lemon slices from the pickling liquid, dry on paper towel if necessary, and top each cracker with a slice of Pickled Lemon. Cut slices to fit if necessary.
Putting the crackers together like this might seem a bit fiddly, but the unusual combination of flavours and the pretty result always seems to justify the trouble.