I love adding simple, fast side dish recipes to this site. People regularly tell me that they’re always on the hunt for ways to make dinner a little more interesting, ways to change things up a little bit with out making a big fuss or making anything harder. Enter this Sautéed Squash with Hot Honey Fried Feta.
This is the third installment in my “feta with hot honey” series (okay, that’s not really a thing, but it is my third installment). I shared my favorite Whipped Feta & Goat Cheese with Hot Honey back in the fall, and to date, it is the most popular, heavily trafficked (?) recipe on this blog.
A couple of weeks ago, I shared Hot Honey Roasted Feta, which was met with much enthusiasm as well. It shows me that you guys enjoy feta, just like I do, and I think it’s fun to try new ways to show it off. Fluffy and whipped or melty and roasted – either of those methods of cookery are beautiful when applied to this salty, briny Greek cheese.
Today, we’re adding one more method of cheese cooking into the mix: pan frying. When you lay large, formidable slices of feta into a hot pan and drench them in honey and a smattering of crushed chili flakes, it gets all toasty and crispy. Browned and beautiful.
It’s INSANELY GOOD AND WONDERFUL that this happens. Because brown food is delicious. Can you see the crunchy fried cheese bits in the photos? Man are they tasty …
KITCHEN LITTLE ESSENTIALS
To make this Easy Sauteed Squash with Hot Honey Fried Feta, you will need:
What I love about this recipe is that fact that the squash pieces act like little sponges for the salty feta and sweet honey flavors. They just soak it all up. Squash of all makes and models are good for that across the board, really, like tofu is. They’re wonderful vehicles for flavor, what with all of their mildness.
This is the fastest, coolest recipe – I just love it. I mean, you could just saute the squash and then throw some crumbled feta right on top and call it good. Yes, you could do that.
But, if you can get your hands on the larger “chunk” feta that is now widely available at just about any supermarket, you can slice it into big, pan-fryable pieces that get nice and crusty as they cook. All that surface area really loves its time on the griddle, and it makes the whole dish.
Easy Sautéed Squash with Hot Honey Fried Feta: Here’s the Step-by-Step
Add 1 TBSP of the oil to a large non-stick skillet set over medium heat. Sauté the zucchini and yellow squash, stirring regularly, until tender; about 4 or 5 minutes. Transfer to a platter or plate and set aside while you toast up the feta.
In the same skillet, add the remaining TBSP of olive oil. Place the planks of feta into the pan and drizzle each with honey and a sprinkling of the chili flakes. Don’t move the cheese once it’s in the pan, as that will interrupt the crust that forms on the bottom (i.e. the most delicious thing). Allow the feta to crisp up underneath and fry until golden brown and “weepy”; about 3 minutes or so.
Flip the cheese and let it warm up on the other side for just 30 seconds or so and then transfer to the platter with the squash, just laying them right over top. I like to break up big pieces of feta and serve them with the cooked squash.
If you like the looks of this Easy Sauteed Squash with Hot Honey Fried Feta, you might want to check out:
Brown Butter Creamed Corn Stuffed Zucchini Boats
Blackened Garlic Butter Catfish with Summer Squash
Easy Sautéed Squash with Hot Honey Fried Feta
A quick and beautiful small plate or side dish that makes the most of summertime squash in a sweet and savory way.
- Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients
- 2 TBSP olive oil, divided
- 1 large yellow squash, sliced into ¼-inch-thick rounds
- 1 large zucchini, sliced into ¼-inch-thick rounds
- 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 8-ounce block feta (or whatever size you can find it in), sliced into wide planks (I usually get three or four)
- 2 TBSP honey, give or take
- 1 tsp crushed red chili flakes
Instructions
- Add 1 TBSP of the oil to a large non-stick skillet set over medium heat. Sauté the zucchini and yellow squash, along with the thyme, until tender; about 4 or 5 minutes. Transfer to a platter or plate and set aside while you toast up the feta.
- In the same skillet, add the remaining TBSP of olive oil. Place the planks of feta into the pan and drizzle each with honey and a sprinkling of the chili flakes. Don’t move the cheese once it’s in the pan, as that will interrupt the crust that forms on the bottom (i.e. the most delicious thing). Allow the feta to crisp up underneath and fry until golden brown and “weepy”; about 3 minutes or so.
- Flip the cheese and let it warm up on the other side for just 30 seconds or so and then transfer to the platter with the squash, just laying them right over top. I like to break up big pieces of feta and serve them with the cooked squash.
Keywords: Easy Sautéed Squash with Hot Honey Fried Feta
