Christian Ryan’s grilled Padrón peppers with whipped feta and herb oil

"The simplicity of these Padrón peppers combines beautifully with the lactic quality of whipped feta."

📝 Ingredients

• 20 small Padrón peppers
• Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
• Whipped feta
• 180 gm Greek feta
• Finely grated zest of 1 lemon, plus 1 tbsp juice
• 50 ml buttermilk
• 70 gm sour cream
• Herb oil
• 2 cups (loosely packed) parsley
• 2 cups (loosely packed) oregano
• 1/4 cup (loosely packed) rosemary
• 5 fresh bay leaves
• 200 ml grapeseed oil

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 11: For whipped feta, place feta and lemon zest in a food processor; process until smooth, then transfer to a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk buttermilk, sour cream and lemon juice until smooth, then fold into feta mixture to combine, season with white pepper and salt to taste. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
2. 22: For herb oil, blanch parsley and oregano in a saucepan of salted boiling water until bright green (20 seconds), then refresh in iced water. Drain again and squeeze out all excess water. Transfer to a high-speed blender with remaining ingredients and blend until smooth (1-2 minutes). Strain through a fine sieve lined with muslin (discard solids). Refrigerate until ready to serve.
3. 33: Preheat a lightly greased char-grill pan or barbecue to high. Toss peppers in olive oil, season to taste and grill, in batches, turning occasionally, until blistered (2-3 minutes). Remove from the heat.
4. 44: Spread whipped feta over base of a shallow serving bowl; top with peppers, drizzle with Mediterranean herb oil and scatter with sea salt flakes to serve.