grilled feta with asparagus chimichurri – smitten kitchen

Make the chimichurri: Place garlic, oregano, and pink chili in a meals processor or excessive velocity blender and mix till chopped. Strip the leaves from the parsley and add them to the blender, pulsing the machine till the parsley is well-chopped. Add olive oil, kosher salt, and black pepper and mix till the parsley is finely chopped. Switch to a bowl and stir in vinegar.

Should you’ve bought time earlier than utilizing it, chimichurri tastes nice after resting at room temperature for half-hour to 2 hours earlier than utilizing. No blender? Finely chop all of the elements by hand, stirring within the oil and vinegar.

Grill the whole lot else: Warmth your grill to a excessive temperature; I like a fast char on the whole lot right here. Organize baguette slices, onion, and asparagus on a big tray (however holding gadgets separate) and drizzle the whole lot with olive oil and season it with salt and pepper. Pat feta block dry and place in a small cast-iron skillet or a bit of foil folded a couple of occasions so it’s slightly sturdier. Drizzle feta with olive oil, too, and head exterior.

My grill is tiny, so I’ve to grill gadgets one after the other. Begin with the baguette slices, arranging them in a single layer and flipping them with tongs as quickly as they get licks of shade beneath. Switch bread again to the tray and grill the onion slices, till they’ve brown marks throughout. As quickly as they arrive off the grill, place them in a medium-large bowl with an enormous spoonful of the chimichurri, so that they mellow and sweeten additional.

Subsequent grill the asparagus, rolling it over as quickly because it will get some char beneath, and repeating on the remaining elements. Switch the asparagus again to the tray, and grill the feta final. Place the pan or foil holding the feta immediately on the grill and let it warmth for five to 10 minutes. Should you can multitask, use the feta grilling time to chop the asparagus into 1/2-inch segments on an angle and switch it to the bowl with the onions and pour in all however the the final 2 tablespoons chimichurri, stirring to mix. Season with salt and black pepper to style.

Assemble and serve: When the feta may be very sizzling all through and perhaps even browned slightly on the edges, use a spatula to rigorously switch it from the grill to a serving plate. Organize the baguette slices round one half of it, and spoon the asparagus chimichurri across the different half. Spoon some further chimichurri over the feta. Eat immediately, smooshing the feta on the toasts and spooning the asparagus on high. The feta is the creamiest when it’s nonetheless piping sizzling, however it’s going to nonetheless be scrumptious even after it has cooled.

No grill? You may make every factor within the oven — the broiler works nice right here, simply control the bread and feta, as they’ll brown a lot quicker.