Feta takes on a new personality when it’s warmed through, becoming jiggly-soft and scoop-able. I love to squish it onto good, charred bread with a chaser of herbaceous green tahini. A rich, luscious combination. The feta parcels can be assembled up to 24 hours ahead (stored in the fridge); the green tahini can be made up to 8 hours ahead (also chilled).

Cook and assembly time: 30 minutes

Serves: 4

Prep: 15 minutes (plus bbq heating time if cooking outside)
Cook: 15 minutes

Ingredients:
400 g (14 oz) feta (2 blocks)

Grated zest of 2 lemons

2 tbsp pul biber

1 tsp dried mint

2 tbsp honey olive oil, for drizzling in each parcel

1 tsp nigella seeds

Green tahini:

1 garlic clove, grated to a paste

Handful of coriander (cilantro) leaves and stalks, chopped

Handful of parsley leaves, chopped

150g (5 ½ oz) tahini

½ tsp ground cumin

Squeeze of lemon juice

60ml (2fl oz/ ¼ cup) cold water

Flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Chunky bread for dipping eg: focaccia or sourdough, torn into chunks

Method:

• Prepare a barbecue for two-zone cooking as described below.
• Lay out two overlapping sheets of foil like a cross then place one piece of feta inside. Top with half of the other ingredients then wrap to secure. Repeat with the second block of feta and another two overlapping sheets of foil, to make two foil parcels.
• Place the foil parcels offset on the barbecue and cook for 15 minutes with the lid on and vents half closed.
• To make the green tahini, put the garlic, coriander (cilantro), parsley, tahini, cumin and lemon juice in a small blender with some salt and pulse to a paste. Slowly drizzle in the cold water with the motor running or until you have a consistency of sour cream. Season with salt and pepper.
• Char your bread on the barbecue, then remove it, along with the feta. Serve the feta parcels with the green tahini and charred bread.
• To cook indoors:
• Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/gas 4) and cook the feta parcels on a baking tray for 15 minutes. Char the bread on a griddle pan.

Note on BBQ set up:

A two-zone set up allows for ‘indirect cooking’. It simply means that the coals are banked to one side of the barbecue creating a hot zone and a cooler zone. The hot zone can be used for searing and quick cooking and the cooler zone for cooking larger bits of meat; for cooking things through more slowly and gently and serves as a safe place to put things when they’re cooking too fast and/or flames are flaring up due to dripping fat.

Adapted from BBQ Days, BBQ Nights (Hardie Grant)