A wintery spin on crudités, this quick and easy whipped feta dip with lemon and red pepper flakes is served alongside a warm roasted vegetable platter with broccoli, carrots, purple cauliflower, endive, hakurei turnips, mushrooms, and radicchio. Serve as an appetizer, party snack, or as part of a snacky winter meal.
As we approach Christmas, a holiday known for all manner of buttery confections, I’m dropping in to share a big plate of vegetables and a dead simple whipped feta dip. Pushing vegetables at the wrong time is extremely on brand for me.
I’m not sharing this roasted vegetable platter with whipped feta dip because I think you need to make or eat vegetables, but because maybe you’ll want to?
Roasted Vegetable Platter with Whipped Feta Dip: An Invitation to Gather
A big platter of warm, golden-crisp vegetables and a wide bowl of dip is an invitation to gather around a table and eat something nourishing. This mix of vegetables has a playful edge with vivid colors and assertive flavors. And they’re just incredibly delicious once dragged through swooshes of whipped feta dip and pools of olive oil . This roasted vegetable platter features broccoli, purple cauliflower, carrots, endive, hakurei turnips, portobello mushrooms, and radicchio. Many of these vegetables came from local farmers, though the chicories are from the grocery store. Winter vegetables tend to span a range of sweet, bitter, and earthy flavors, all of which are set off nicely by the tang and richness of the whipped feta dip.
Getting Roasted Vegetables Right
The vegetables roast at slightly different rates, so you’ll want to pair like with like on the baking sheet. Keep a close eye and pull each vegetable as it’s ready. While the vegetables roast, you’ll have time to make the whipped feta dip. It’s as simple as combining feta, Greek yogurt, lemon zest and juice, olive oil, and sea salt in your food processor.
Make the Dip Ahead!
The vegetables can be prepped ahead, but should be roasted just ahead of serving. The dip can be made ahead and kept in the fridge. Just before serving, drizzle generously with olive oil, red pepper flakes, parsley, and lemon zest. To serve, pile the vegetables around the dip, pass out forks and croutons, and enjoy!
Add Your Favorite Dips
I love the way the tang of the whipped feta dip plays off the smoky roasted vegetable flavor, but there are lots of options for dips to include with this roasted vegetable platter. Here are a few of my favorite dips:
I included croutons with my roasted vegetable platter. Naan or pita triangles, potato chips, or seeded crackers would all be delicious additions.
- 1 small head broccoli cut into 1-inch florets
- 1/2 head of cauliflower (purple, yellow, or white), cut into 1-inch florets
- 1 small bunch carrots with greens attached, greens trimmed, scrubbed, and halved lengthwise
- 4 hakurei turnips, greens trimmed, halved or quartered, depending on size
- 2 portobello mushroom caps, sliced ½-inch thick
- 1 head radicchio, quartered
- 2 endive, halved or quartered, depending on size
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Sea salt
- Red pepper flakes
- Black pepper
- 8 ounces chopped feta cheese
- ¾ cup full-fat Greek yogurt
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed, peeled, and minced
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
- Zest of 1 lemon, plus 2 tablespoons juice (if desired, reserve 1 teaspoon zest for garnish)
- ½ teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoons minced parsley
- Croutons (recipe here)
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Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Move baking racks to the top third of the oven. Set out two large baking sheets.
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Arrange the broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, and hakurei turnips on one baking sheet. Arrange the endive, radicchio, and mushrooms on another. It’s ok if things are a little crowded, but make sure to give the mushrooms a bit more space. Drizzle the vegetables generously with olive oil, and sprinkle with sea salt and pepper.
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Roast the tray with broccoli and other vegetables 15 - 20 minutes. Roast the endive and radicchio 10 - 15 minutes, and the mushrooms for 20. If you can fit them, place both baking sheets on a single rack in the oven. Otherwise, place the baking sheets on two racks, with each on a different side of the oven, and then switch the position of the baking sheets halfway through.
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Meanwhile, make the dip. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse to combine the feta, yogurt, garlic, 2 tablespoons olive oil, lemon zest and juice, salt, and red pepper flakes. Process until smooth.
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Arrange the vegetables on a large platter or cutting board. Spoon the dip into a bowl, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with parsley, lemon zest, and red pepper flakes. Serve immediately.
thank you, whipped feta is a nice texture change and great way to get it on some vegetables, so creative I think feta is too seldom paired with vegetables because its too hard to eat the traditional feta cheese with them!