My superpower? Dropping recipes so late on the Friday of a holiday weekend, absolutely nobody will see them. Well, except you. I’m here for us last-minute planners, we indecisive “I want to make something new this weekend, but nothing has jumped out at me.” I hope we can stop scrolling now.
I haven’t been able to get Jessica Merchant’s chimichurri and pistachio grilled feta out of my head since it crossed my social media threshold a couple weeks ago. I’ve been on a green chimichurri kick (how 90s!) for the last month when I realized, after making some in preparation for the grilled chicken episode of The Recipe with Kenji and Deb that I never needed to let leftover parsley go to waste again. A bundle so easily makes a batch of one of the greatest of all the great fresh green sauces and I’ve been putting it on everything since… but feta. Until now.
What this shares with the Baked Feta with Tomatoes and Chickpeas, Baked Brie with Garlic Butter Mushrooms, and even the Summer Ricotta with Grilled Vegetables is an unapologetic agenda of passing off a big serving of cheese as a meal, simply by adding a seasonal vegetable or two. Suddenly it’s not a cheese plate, it’s a grilled salad or dreamy apero hour snack, or the kind of thing that will be as welcome of addition to any potluck this weekend as you are.
Video
Previously
6 months ago: Rolled Spinach Omelet
1 year ago: Easy Strawberry Lemonade
2 years ago: Double Chocolate Chip Muffins
3 years ago: Classic Shortbread, Quick, Easy Salsa, and Twisty Cinnamon Buns
4 years ago: Rhubarb Cordial
5 years ago: Braised Ginger Meatballs In Coconut Broth
6 years ago: Triple Coconut Cream Pie
7 years ago: Pistachio Cake and A Really Great Pot of Chickpeas
8 years ago: Potato Pizza, Even Better, Carrot Tahini Muffins and Sheet Pan Chicken Tikka
9 years ago: Strawberry Rhubarb Soda Syrup, Artichoke Gratin Toasts and Maple Pudding Cake
10 years ago: Lamb Meatballs with Feta and Lemon
11 years ago: Ramp Pizza and Yogurt Panna Cotta with Walnuts and Honey
12 years ago: Pasta with Garlicky Broccoli Rabe, Classic Ice Cream Sandwiches and Cinnamon Toast French Toast
13 years ago: Heavenly Chocolate Cake Roll and Crispy Potato Roast
14 years ago: Tangy Spiced Brisket
15 years ago: Pickled Grapes with Cinnamon and Black Pepper and Buttermilk Ice Cream
16 years ago: Fork-Crushed Purple Potatoes, Whole Wheat Apple Muffins, and Caramelized Shallots
17 years ago: Black Bean Confetti Salad,?Margarita Cookies and Tequila Lime Chicken
Grilled Feta with Asparagus Chimichurri
- 3 large or 4 regular cloves garlic
- 3/4 teaspoon dried oregano or 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh red chili pepper or 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 4 ounce bundle flat-leaf parsley [or 1/2 cup finely-chopped leaves]
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 baguette, sliced 1/2-inch-thick on an angle
- 1 large red onion, cut into thin wedges
- 1 pound asparagus spears, trimmed
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Olive oil
- 8-ounce block feta
Chimichurri
Assembly
If you’ve got time before using it, chimichurri tastes great after resting at room temperature for 30 minutes to 2 hours before using. No blender? Finely chop all the ingredients by hand, stirring in the oil and vinegar.
Grill everything else: Heat your grill to a high temperature; I like a quick char on everything here. Arrange baguette slices, onion, and asparagus on a large tray (but keeping items separate) and drizzle everything with olive oil and season it with salt and pepper. Pat feta block dry and place in a small cast-iron skillet or a piece of foil folded a few times so it’s a little sturdier. Drizzle feta with olive oil, too, and head outside.
My grill is tiny, so I have to grill items one at a time. Start with the baguette slices, arranging them in one layer and flipping them with tongs as soon as they get licks of color underneath. Transfer bread back to the tray and grill the onion slices, until they have brown marks all over. As soon as they come off the grill, place them in a medium-large bowl with a big spoonful of the chimichurri, so they mellow and sweeten further.
Next grill the asparagus, rolling it over as soon as it gets some char underneath, and repeating on the remaining parts. Transfer the asparagus back to the tray, and grill the feta last. Place the pan or foil holding the feta directly on the grill and let it heat for 5 to 10 minutes. If you can multitask, use the feta grilling time to cut the asparagus into 1/2-inch segments on an angle and transfer it to the bowl with the onions and pour in all but the the last 2 tablespoons chimichurri, stirring to combine. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.
Assemble and serve: When the feta is very hot throughout and maybe even browned a little at the edges, use a spatula to carefully transfer it from the grill to a serving plate. Arrange the baguette slices around one half of it, and spoon the asparagus chimichurri around the other half. Spoon some extra chimichurri over the feta. Eat right away, smooshing the feta on the toasts and spooning the asparagus on top. The feta is the creamiest when it’s still piping hot, but it will still be delicious even after it has cooled.
No grill? You can make each element in the oven — the broiler works great here, just keep an eye on the bread and feta, as they’ll brown much faster.
This sounds SO delicious! Thanks Deb.
I’m in europe, so it’s already tomorrow here ;)
Recipe sounds great, I’m used to asperagus recipes with eggs and soft creamy flavors, this could be a refreshing change.
Ooh, a poached egg on this with slightly less cheese and larger slices of sourdough would make a delightful brunch! Next Saturday morning sorted!
Yes to this!!! I will be doing this on Sunday ??
It¡¯s almost winter for me, but I feel like this would be delicious with roasted pumpkin, something I have a lot of!
I love the idea of making the chimichurri as a way of using up parsley, which I¡¯m always chucking out when I buy fresh. How long can you keep the sauce for?
You’re right there is usually a new recipe after I get home from the grocery store lol
Delicious! Even though I roasted it instead of grilling in the rain. Served with Lambrusco spritz and it was divine. Thank you!
This looks like a great way for me to use that little bit of parsley I have left in my frig. I always like making some sort of parsley sauce and since I haven’t made a chimichurri in a while, looks like I know what I’ll be doing.
Having not made chimichurri often (up to this point), is there any reason to NOT use the parsley stems as they have the flavor and are going to be ground up anyhow?
Depending on the stems, and the ratio of stems to leaves, it can get a little woody/gritty. But definitely use the softer stems.
I love hanging out in Deb’s world, where one endlessly gets invited to potlucks, rooftop parties with habachis and mojitos, and friends drop by to eat all your leftovers and then stay for happy hour. I live rurally and am a senior, so it’s a different story. I love my life, but it’s fun to come here and hang with a different fantasy.
Just made this – a winner! Like a taste of summer
Had some asparagus starting to look sad, so jumped on this right away!
We don¡¯t have a grill, so used our broiler. It worked pretty well though you should check to make sure the feta isn¡¯t too tall for the oven rack (we scorched ours a little. Came out fantastic, we really liked the combination of the asparagus + chimichurri and are already planning what other things we could out it on.
Delicious! I used two cloves of garlic and diced coarsely then let them soak in some lemon juice before putting it all in food processor with the rest of chumichurri ingredients (with only half the vinegar) to mellow the raw garlic and was amazing! None of the bite that tends to stick with me for hours after having raw garlic. So yummy!!
Rachael, this is exactly why I always shy away from adding garlic to raw sauces! I like the flavor in the moment, but not for 6 hours after. Thank you for the tip!
The lemon trick is kind of amazing. I first heard about this from the hummus recipe from the Zahav cookbook and it really works!
Thanks for sharing! That was my only complaint about this dish.
Same here, great idea. I loved this otherwise
It¡¯s a great way to make Caesar salad dressing too.
I¡¯m intrigued! Do you ditch the lemon juice after soaking the garlic?
This is really tasty, especially with local asparagus and good quality feta. It was enough for a meal for me but we added grilled sausages for my spouse. Since we are only two people, we only did half a baguette. I used the other half baguette to turn the leftovers into a sandwich (toasted the baguette cut in half lengthwise in a cast iron skillet, spread the feta on, topped with the asparagus chimichurri).
Made this tonight whilst on a road trip with friends. Super easy and delicious!
We made this today and it was amazingly delicious. I love how I can trust every one of your recipes!! We had it with grilled shrimp, trip-tip skewers and a quinoa/chickpea salad.
Don’t throw away leftover parsley… please… you can freeze it and add it to soups and sauces. I love parsley, and the thought of wasting it doesn’t make my day ;-)
It’s also wonderful in a salad! I honestly just eat it by the handful.
This was so delicious!
Made it as a tray bake (minus the baguette) which worked great. Will definitely try again on the grill, missed the char which cannot quite be achieved in the oven.
Delicious! We added grilled salmon to the top and made it a meal. And it was all things we had in our fridge!
Great. I combined this with the old Feta and Tomatoes recipe, as I had that on hand, not asparagus. Though did note with tomatoes, or maybe it was the type of feta, I had to pour off some water.
Will be my go to app this summer. Thank you!
Can I sub basil for parsley?
I’d think so, just a different flavor!
Made this last weekend and it was a huge hit! We didn¡¯t have a baguette but we did have a pizza dough and so we grilled that up first and did everything else as written. Definitely use fresh oregano if you can! Enjoy!
Oh man, this was good! So simple and flavorful. We did it under the broiler. It was my dream meal.
This looks delicious! Can I sub cilantro for parsley?
Broiled asparagus and made the chimichurri as written. Served it with salmon and roasted potatoes. WOW! That sauce is amazing!! I can imagine it on so many other foods… Thank you, Deb!
I roasted instead of grilling and all was delicious. Going forward, I will begin roasting onion and feta and add asparagus 10 min in – this way feta will melt, onions will get sweet and asparagus will stay crunchy; doing them together for close to 20-25 min, made the spears a bit too soft. I also substituted jalapeno for red chili as that’s what I had – fantastic and to be used on new potatoes, or even the other roasted feta dish – with tomato and chickpeas.
Excited! Making this today with grilled artichokes and sliced new york strip. Also made a roasted red pepper chimicurri.
This looks delicious! Can I make the chimichurri a day ahead?
The perfect summer meal! Even my cheese-averse 4 year old loved the feta. I grilled some shrimp to add some more protein. For the chimichurri I realized when I got home from the store I only got a 2 oz package of parsley. So I used the stems and leaves. I think it came out great and it made the prep a little easier (as one my least favorite things to do when cooking is picking leaves off stems). Thanks for another great recipe!
Hi Deb, DON’T forget, you are INTERNATIONAL….what holiday? I know, I know…but really, aren’t holidays FOR cooking and baking??? So of course everyone would have seen your recipes!
Thanks for reminding me that I bought a Provoleta pan when on vacation in Buenos Aires. There they will briefly grill the cheese (a thick slice of aged provolone) and flip it into a baby hot cast iron pan to then melt it further on the grill. I made the chimmichuri recipe with cilantro because that¡¯s what I had, and I¡¯ve been riffing with it all week (carrot salad dressing, mixed with mayo on a sando, on farro..)
OMG! After listening to your podcast with Kenji I searched Asparagus Recipes.on your site and this one came up first! I immediately scrubbed the plan for pork Tenderloin dinner and went shopping for these ingredients! We had it over arugula. Delicious barely describes this dish! My only tweak was to add mint and cilantro to the parsley and oregano in the chimichurri! Thank you for this awesome repeat-worthy dish!
This recipe was delicious in the end but grilling the feta was a disaster. I was saut¨¦ing the veggies on the stove in my cast iron skillet. I added the feta and it immediately stuck to the pan. I got it off and send it out to the grill. When I added the feta to the grill, within a minute it had melted and was starting to fall through the grates. Tips or suggestions to keep it intact?
Made this – delicious. Instead of roasting Feta, I added crumbled goat cheese at the end. Roasted/Broiled veg in the oven. Served on sliced in half, toasted baguettes.
Made this last night and it was delicious. I didn’t have red wine vinegar so skipped that with the chimichurri and it was still very good. I roasted the asparagus, onions and feta at 400 degrees until everything was done, not sure how long that was. Used sourdough bread. Very good and very easy to prepare. Will make again for sure.
Best. Dish. Ever. You can make it exactly as listed and it’s incredible. You can shortcut, skipping the grill, and it’s still really good. Party guests were raving (which is unexpected for an asparagus dish). RUN for your next summer dish.
Delicious! Brought this recipe to friends for dinner and it stole the show. I love your recipes!
Made this twice in one week because it was THAT good. We made it on two sheet pans (one for the bread, thrown in later) at a 425 oven and broiled it briefly at the end. So easy!
Definitely recommend getting high quality, creamy feta to make it more spreadable on the toast.
Just made this tonight, employing broiler method. The bread was done very quickly, but everything else took about the same amount of time; I checked on everything every 3 minutes or so. Used a shallot instead of red onion. It was delicious and exactly what I’d hoped for! Thank you!
P.S. Think it would also be good with mint and/or cilantro. Feta browned and got melty but then congealed before we got to eating it, so we kind of mixed it all up into a cheesy-pesto-y-asparagusy delight.
Holy moly! This is absolutely delicious. I made it last night for a party. My poor husband had to do the grilling in the pouring rain, but it was totally worth it. And the previously mentioned trick about soaking the chopped garlic in a bit of lemon juice really worked. It still tasted awesome, but didn¡¯t give me dragon breath for the next 36 hours.