BAKED POLENTA WITH FETA, BÉCHAMEL AND ZA’ATAR TOMATOES
SERVES 4–6
PREP + COOKING TIME: 1 hour 45 minutes
FOR THE ZA’ATAR TOMATOES
• 400 g cherry tomatoes• 120 ml olive oil• 25ml (1½ tbsp) balsamic vinegar• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed• 30 ml (2 tbsp) za’atar spice mix• 2.5ml (½ tsp) caster sugar• 5g parsley, chopped roughly• 5g oregano leaves, chopped roughly• salt and black pepper
FOR THE BAKED POLENTA
• 80 g unsalted butter• 50 g cake wheat flour• 750 ml (3 cups) full-cream milk• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed• 200 g polenta• 65g pecorino Romano, grated roughly• 180 g feta, crumbled roughly• 5g sprigs of oregano (try to use the softer sprigs)
1. Preheat the oven to 150°C.
Put the tomatoes, oil, vinegar, garlic, 1 tsp salt and a good grind of pepper into a medium baking dish, roughly 30cm x 20cm. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 40–45 minutes, stirring halfway through, or until the tomatoes have just burst but aren’t completely falling apart. Remove the foil, gently stir in the za’atar and sugar, and leave to cool completely. Once cool, stir in the herbs (gently, so as not to
