Courgette & feta appetizers
Prep Time 20 minutes 
Cook Time 10 minutes 
Total Time 30 minutes 
Servings 6Ingredients
- 2 courgette
- 250 gr mascarpone
- 200 ml double cream chilled
- 150 gr feta
- salted crackers
- mint
- chives
- parsley
- olive oil
- salt and black pepper
Equipment
Instructions
1. Prepare the courgettes
- Wash and slice or dice the courgettes into small pieces. Sauté gently in olive oil over medium heat for about 10 minutes until tender but still firm. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside to cool completely.
2. Whip the cream
- In a clean mixing bowl, whip the chilled heavy cream to stiff peaks using an electric mixer or whisk. This will give your cream a light, airy texture.
3. Mix mascarpone and feta
- In another bowl, combine the mascarpone and crumbled feta cheese until smooth. Gently fold in the chopped fresh herbs (mint, chives, and parsley) for fresh flavor.
4. Fold whipped cream into mascarpone mixture
- Carefully fold the whipped cream into the mascarpone and feta mixture, preserving the lightness and airiness of the cream.
5. Layer the small clear glasses (verrines)
- Begin by sprinkling a thin layer of crushed salted crackers at the bottom of each glass. Add a layer of the cooled courgettes on top. Then spoon or pipe a generous amount of the mascarpone and feta cream over the courgettes. Repeat the layers if the glasses allow.
6. Chill before serving
- Finish with a sprinkle of fresh herbs on top for a vibrant finish. Chill the verrines in the fridge for at least 2 hours to allow the flavors to meld and the cream to set slightly.
7. Chill before serving
- Serve chilled for the best taste and texture!
Notes
- Add a hint of lemon zest to the mascarpone mixture for extra zing.
- Swap feta for mild goat’s cheese if preferred.
- For a pop of colour and taste, toss in some diced roasted peppers or sun-dried tomatoes with the courgettes.
- These verrines make a stylish starter or canapé for any occasion.
About this recipe
These feta appetizers are my favourite kind of starter: almost embarrassingly simple to make, but they look really impressive and festive when you serve them to your guests. Three things going on at once, soft sweet courgettes, a sharp creamy feta layer, and something crisp at the bottom to give it all a bit of texture. You can have them assembled in about twenty minutes, which is not what people assume when they see them, and that’s exactly why I love them.
What is a verrine?
The verrine format is a fashionable way to serve food, but it also solves a practical problem. If you put courgettes and whipped cheese on a plate they slump into each other and look messy. In a small glass you can play with proportions and layers to make the food look more appealing.
A thin crunchy base, a visible band of courgettes, then a thick clean layer of feta on top. The vertical layering lets each spoonful be its own thing. The glass does the presentation work for you, and as a cook all you need to do is get the layers right. Individual portions also mean no serving problems and no slicing going wrong. Each guest picks up a glass and that’s it.
Courgette feta in Mediterranean cooking
Courgettes get a bad reputation for being bland, but they’re really generous if you treat them right. In France they’re a summer staple, grown in gardens across the south and turning up in markets from June through September. They go into tians, gratins, soups, fritters. Sautéed briefly over medium-high heat with enough salt, they lose their excess water, the edges pick up a little colour, and the flavour concentrates into something fresh and slightly sweet.
That sweetness needs something with backbone next to it, and that’s where the feta comes in. Salty, lactic, a little acidic. Together they work like a great seasoning system, the courgette brings moisture and freshness, the feta brings salt and tang. You really don’t need much else. A bit of olive oil, some herbs if you like, and you’re done.
One thing that matters: let the courgettes cool completely before you start layering. Hot vegetables will melt and loosen the feta and you’ll lose that clean separation that makes the glass look so good.
The whipped feta
Whipped feta only works beautifully when you pay attention to texture. The mascarpone is there purely for structure and smoothness, not flavour. Start with roughly two parts feta to one part mascarpone by weight and adjust from there. If you can still feel tiny grains of feta on your tongue, keep blending.
Seasoning is where restraint really pays off. Feta is already salty, so all you need is some black pepper, a drizzle of good olive oil, and something bright like lemon zest or a small squeeze of juice if the cheese is particularly rich. Taste it from a cold teaspoon, the way you’ll eat it in the glass.
If you want to make this feta appetizer recipe more interesting, this is the layer to play with different types of herbs. Finely chopped dill, mint, or chives folded through are all lovely. A pinch of Aleppo pepper works really well too. Just be careful not to add so much that you lose that clean feta flavour.
Creating the verrines
For the nicest finish, piping the feta into the glasses works much better than spooning it in. A sturdy piping bag lets you control exactly how much goes into each verrine, which keeps the layers even and makes a row of glasses look like a matching set rather than a happy accident. Once assembled, these feta appetizers sit happily in the fridge for an hour or two, which actually improves them and means everything is done before anyone arrives.
How to eat these feta appetizers
These are ideal for when you want everything ready before the doorbell rings. Assemble the feta appetizers an hour or two ahead, cover them loosely so they don’t pick up any fridge smells, and leave them to rest.
Serve them chilled as a starter, or dotted along an apéro table alongside other small things and something crisp to drink. They only need a small spoon, and they feel a little bit special without asking you to spend the afternoon in the kitchen.
Share your feedback and spread the love!
If you try this recipe, I’d love to hear how it turns out! Leave a ★★★★★ rating and your thoughts in the comments, it helps fellow French foodies discover this recipe too. Snap a photo and tag @obviously.french on Instagram. Come talk about it in our Facebook group. And don’t forget to save this recipe to Pinterest so you’ll always have it handy for your next French-inspired meal!
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