Crustless Spanokopita

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped scallions
1 teaspoon minced garlic
16 ounces spinach leaves, rinsed and chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup liquid egg substitute (or 1 large egg, beaten)
1/4 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1/2 cup crumbled reduced fat feta cheese
1 teaspoon dried oregano

Preheat the oven to 350F. Spray a small baking dish with cooking spray.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, scallions and garlic and saute until soft, about 2 minutes. Stir in the spinach, parsley and lemon juice. Continue to saute until the spinach is limp and all the liquid is absorbed, about 2 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix together the egg substitute, ricotta, feta and oregano. Stir in the spinach mixture. Pour it all into the prepared backing dish. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until bubbly. Serve hot as a side dish or as a dip with pita crisps, crackers, or breadsticks.

Creamy Feta Salad Dressing

If you like feta cheese, you will love this creamy, low-fat, high-protein salad dressing.

1/3 cup reduced-fat feta cheese, crumbled
1/3 cup fat-free plain Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano, or 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste

Whiz the ingredients in a mini food processor until smooth enough to suit you. I like it with the feta cheese broken down into bits but not completely obliterated.

Serve with green salad or a salad of mixed chopped raw vegetables (with or without chickpeas).

Tabbouleh with edamame & feta cheese

1-1/4 cups uncooked bulgur or cracked wheat
2 cups boiling water or chicken broth
1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/8 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 cups chopped tomato
3 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (I use reduced fat feta)
1/3 cup chopped scallions
1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper
2 cups cooked, shelled edamame
4 pita breads (7" diameter), cut in half

Combine the bulgur and water or broth, cover and let stand 30 min. Drain.

Process the parsley, lemon juice, oil, and oregano in a mini food processor until smooth.

Combine the bulgur, parsley mixture, tomato, feta, scallions, salt & pepper, and edamame in a large bowl. Serve with pita bread.

4 servings

Marinated Feta Cheese

1 block (6 oz.) reduced-fat feta cheese
1/4 c. olive oil
2 tbl red wine vinegar
1 tbl chopped fresh rosemary (or 1/2 tbl dried)
1 tsp chopped fresh oregano (or 1/2 tsp dried)
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
peel from 1/2 fresh lemon

Cut the cheese into bite-size chunks. In a small bowl, whisk together oil, vinegar, herbs, pepper and garlic. Pare thin curls of peel from the lemon (try not to include any white pith - just the yellow peel). Combine the feta and lemon peel with the marinade, cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours.

One hour before serving, remove the cheese from the fridge to let it come up to room temperature. Stir it a few times before serving.