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This year, I purchased a trio of serving dishes: a petite, silver-plated one from a local charity shop perfect for presenting snacks to make them look fancy; a medium-sized colorful enamel platter for everyday everything; and an oversized, steel serving plate for dinner parties. It's unclear how this occurred, but I must admit that I love the energy that platters give to a table, and the gentle sense of pomp and ceremony they lend even the simplest of meals. My love for the platter inspired today's dish, a final fling using the remaining summer produce atop fluffy feta.

Za’atar Roast Vegetables and Whipped Feta

It requires a food processor to prepare the feta spread.

Prep 15 minutes
Cooking 40 min
Yields four portions

• 400 grams of zucchini, chopped into uneven, roughly 3cm x 3cm pieces
• One red onion, skinned and sliced as 1.5cm wedges on the broad side
• 300 grams of feta cheese
• High-quality olive oil
• Two teaspoons of za'atar, with more to garnish
• Fine sea salt and black pepper
• One small eggplant (450 grams), cut into irregular, about 5cm by 4cm pieces
• 100 grams of Greek yogurt
• Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon – you’ll need only ½ tbsp of the juice
• A 570g jar of butter beans, drained to yield 240 grams (reserve the remainder)
• 20g fresh mint, leaves picked and torn, to serve

Preheat the oven to 220C (200C fan)/425F/gas 7 and line two large rectangular baking trays using parchment paper.

Put the courgettes and onion in a bowl, crumble one-third of the feta into bits, and add three tablespoons of oil, a teaspoon of za’atar and half a teaspoon of salt. Spread onto a prepared baking sheet, ensuring the veggies are spaced apart.

Put the chopped aubergine in the now-empty bowl, and add two tablespoons of oil, another teaspoon of za’atar and a quarter-teaspoon of salt. Transfer to the second sheet, setting the bowl aside. Roast both trays of vegetables for half an hour, until soft and slightly browned.

In the meantime, add the leftover 200g feta in a food processor with the yoghurt and three tablespoons of oil, then add the lemon zest, half a tablespoon of lemon juice and a quarter-teaspoon of salt, and blitz until smooth.

Spread the whipped feta on to a platter big enough to hold all the vegetables. Once the vegetables are baked, tip them all, cooking juices included, back into the saved bowl, mix in the butter beans and mint, and season with black pepper. Taste for salt and oil, adding both to taste, then spoon over the feta spread and serve.