#RecipeOfTheWeek: Baked Feta With Rosemary Blackberry Compote

• 3 black peppercorns (if you don’t have whole peppercorns, use a few good grinds of black pepper)
• 4 juniper berries (if you can’t find these, you can use a bay leaf)
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons buckwheat honey
• 1 pint blackberries

Directions:

1. In a single layer of cheese cloth, tie up the peppercorns, juniper berries, and rosemary sprig, so they are easier to fish out once the compote has finished cooking.
2. Place all the ingredients, including the cheese cloth melange, in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer. Make sure the cheese cloth is nestled under the blackberries.
3. Once the mixture has begun to simmer and the blackberries have started to give up their juices, reduce the heat to medium low and simmer until the blackberries have broken up and the consistency is syrupy, 20 to 25 minutes. You should end up with roughly 1 cup of compote.
4. You can use the compote immediately – be sure to fish out the cheese cloth – however, let it chill it in the fridge for a few hours or even overnight to allow the flavours to marry.

• 1 8-ounce rectangle of feta, patted dry
• 2 teaspoons olive oil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Place an oven rack in the upper third of your oven.
2. Coat the feta with the olive oil and place in a small, oven-proof baking dish, ideally one you can serve out of.
3. Bake the feta until it is softening, about 8 minutes. At that point, switch to the broiler setting and broil the cheese until the top starts to brown – about 3 minutes. Do not over broil.
4. Remove from the oven and spoon over your desired amount of warm blackberry compote – reserve the remaining compote in the freeze for future use. Serve immediately with rustic crackers.

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