Fried Feta Bowls
These Fried Feta Bowls feature slabs of sesame-coated feta fried to golden perfection and cozied up on a bed of rice topped with romaine, tomatoes, cucumber, olives, banana peppers, and crushed pita chips.
Equipment
- 1 Large skillet
Ingredients
- 1 clove garlic minced
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 lemon juiced
- ½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp salt
- 400g feta cut into 8 slabs **
- 2 eggs beaten
- 1 cup cornstarch
- 1 cup untoasted sesame seeds
- ⅓ cup neutral oil I used canola oil
- ⅓ cup honey
- 4 cups cooked rice
- 1 head romaine finely chopped
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes halved
- 2 mini cucumbers chopped
- ½ red onion halved and thinly sliced
- 1 cup mixed olives
- ½ cup pickled banana peppers
- 1½ cup pita chips crushed
Instructions
- Place the garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, red pepper flakes, oregano, and salt in a bowl. Whisk to combine and set it aside. ***
- Take a slab of feta and coat it in the egg mixture. Next, roll it in the cornstarch, then return it to the egg. Finally, roll the feta in the sesame seeds before transferring it to a plate. Repeat with the remaining pieces of feta.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet. Once the oil is rippling, add the feta and fry until golden on both sides. Work in batches and don't crowd the pan. The feta should take about 3 minutes on each side.
- Transfer the fried feta to a plate and immediately drizzle with the honey.
- Divide the rice across four bowls. Top the rice with the romaine lettuce, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, olives, and banana peppers. Add 2 pieces of feta to each bowl and garnish with the crushed pita chips. Drizzle the lemon oregano vinaigrette over each bowl and serve immediately.
Notes
** Try to make the feta pieces as uniform in size as possible.
*** You can make the vinaigrette 2-3 days in advance.