This Mediterranean feta cheese log is the perfect appetizer to wow your guests. With a combination of all the great flavors of the Mediterranean, you won’t be able to stop at one bite.
So after being pregnant for what seemed like years, I am catching up on all the things the doctor advised not eating while pregnant. I have the rawish sushi at least once a week, so much so that the sushi makers already know my special order and even make special rolls catered to my taste when I walk up to the counter. Deli meats I’ll eat straight out of the container. Creamy hummus, which I’m still a little put back why this one was on the list. And last but not least, CHEESE. You know the really good ones that are soft or feta.
I already had a big love for feta cheese, but after not having it forever that love only grew stronger. Now when strolling through the salad bar line I at least dump a good ½ a cup of feta on top of my salad. It didn’t help while I was pregnant having cravings for Greek salads and let me tell you a Greek salad without feta is just blah.
Since I love all things cheese, especially some sort of formed cheese for an appetizer for parties, that’s where the inspiration came for this Mediterranean feta cheese log came from. You hardly ever see feta made cheese balls because who just wants a big bite of feta alone on a pita chip. That’s where the Mediterranean olives and marinated artichoke hearts come in. Mix all that together and talk about yum.
But instead of throwing all the ingredients together and rolling it up in a ball, why not make it look pretty. Have you ever made pinwheels before? Where you take a tortilla and lay it out and layer it with meats and maybe lettuce and some spread and roll it up nice and tight and then cut it to make bite size pieces. Yeah, you’re basically doing the same thing here except not cutting it into pieces. Just let your guests and their pita chip handle that part.
You want to make sure and let your cream cheese and feta set out of the refrigerator for a good 30 minutes or more so it can get soft which will make it blend together easier. I got a block of feta but the already crumbled kind works well too. The block feta will have some water start to form especially when you start to break it up. I just squeezed as much water as I could out of it. If you have a cheese cloth this is the perfect time to use it. Just add both to a mixer along with the spices and blend together.
While that is going you can throw your olives and marinated artichoke hearts into a food processor and chop them up. You can make this as chopped as you want. I still liked mine a little chunky so the flavors aren’t as mixed together.
Have two pieces of plastic wrap ready and lay your cheese out in a ball in the middle of one piece. Lay the other piece of plastic wrap on top of the cheese ball and roll it out with a rolling pin. I chose to make one way longer than the other so it will form the shape of a log.
After it’s all rolled out put a nice layer of your olive/artichoke mix on top and proceed to make a tight roll just like a pin wheel using the bottom plastic wrap. Now refrigerate for a couple hours and then it’s ready to serve with some pita chips or whatever you prefer.
Mediterranean Feta Cheese Log
Ingredients
- 8 oz feta
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 3/4 cup of kalamata olives
- 3/4 cup green olives
- 3/4 cup marinated artichoke hearts
- 1/2 TSP oregano
- 1/4 TSP salt
- 1/4 TSP basil
- 1/4 TSP garlic powder
Instructions
- Let both cheese set out for at least 30 minutes to soften and squeeze any excess water out of feta
- Crumble feta into a food mixer and add cream cheese and spices and blend together well
- Add olives and artichoke hearts in a food processor and chop
- Lay out a piece of plastic wrap and put the cheese mix in a ball shape in the middle and lay other piece of plastic wrap on top and roll out with a rolling pin.
- Add a good layer of the olive/artichoke mix on top of cheese layer and start at one side and roll tight like a pinwheel
- Refrigerate for at least 2 hours and serve with pita chips
This is absolutely inspired! A different kind of yule log lol! I wonder if it would ever have a forbidden love affair with a chocolate yule log.