I never knew TikTok had such fabulous recipes until I ran across this viral sensation for Baked Feta Pasta whose combination of flavors I just had to try! There are several recipes out there, including the original, and this recipe reflects them with perhaps some slight variations. If you want to avoid the pasta addition, you could definitely serve it as a hot dip to serve on some crusty bread. To make a heartier meal to serve more people, add some shredded chicken breast to this pasta dish or serve it as a sauce over chicken breast with a veggie of choice or a salad on the side. There are so many creative ways to use this amazing sauce. Here, however, we will focus on its original preparation and your mind can vary how to tweak it to suit your family’s desires.
Origination:
For some additional background information regarding its origination, check out this link:
https://washingtonpost.com/food/2021/02/11/baked-feta-pasta-recipe-tiktok
Assembly:
Effort to create this is minimal. Pour the olive oil in the baking dish and place the block of Feta in the center. Distribute the 2 cups of tomatoes around the feta along with 4 cloves of unpeeled garlic. Using a spoon, gently toss and roll tomatoes to coat with the oil.
Grind the pepper over the feta and tomatoes. sprinkle evenly with sea salt, oregano and lemon zest. Place the red pepper flakes over the Feta and drizzle with 2-3 tablespoons odf additional olive oil.
Baking:
Place prepped dish in a preheated 400 degree oven for 40-45 minutes. Bake until tomatoes have roasted skin and feta in browned. During this baking time, your home will smell amazing! Check at the 40 minute mark. You may need to place oven BRIEFLY on convection setting or broil, if not at your desired level of toastiness. WATCH carefully, checking every 30-60 seconds to avoid burning.
Prepare the pasta to be cooked and ready approximately at the same time the dish comes out of the oven. Use any pasta you desire. Here I am going to use some large macaroni pasta I made with my pasta maker. Once it was cooked, it remind me of ziti in this sauce. (See below.)
To prep the basil chiffonade, roll up a few leaves at a time like a cigar, then slice thinly. Toss gently to loosen. Measure around 1/3 of a cup and set aside.
Finishing up:
Remove the unpeeled garlic and squeeze out the contents back into the pan.. With the back of a wooden spoon, mash the garlic and tomatoes. Break up the Feta and begin to stir it along with everything else. Combine until smooth with ingredients evenly distributed.
Add the hot pasta and toss to combine and coat.
Next, sprinkle over the top the fresh basil chiffonade.
Gently toss in the basil chiffonade. If the consistency seems too thick, drizzle in some of the reserved pasta water and stir until desired consistency is reached. Now you are ready to serve up this famously viral Baked Feta Pasta which you most definitely need to try!!~Enjoy!
Baked Feta Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 oz block Feta cheese
- 2 c ripe cherry tomatoes
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 1/4 c extra virgin olive oil plus 2-3 T more to drizzle on the block of Feta
- 1/2 t sea salt
- 1 t freshly ground black pepper
- 1 t dried oregano
- 2t-1T lemon zest
- 1/2 t red pepper flakes
- 1 lb. pasta
- 1/2 c reserved pasta cooking water
- 1/3 c basil chiffonade
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- In a 13" x 9" x 2" baking dish, or one similar in size, pour in the 1/4 cup of olive oil.
- Place the block of feta in the center of the dish and distribute the tomatoes evenly around its perimeter.
- With a wooden spoon, roll and gently toss the tomatoes in the oil to coat.
- Grind the black pepper and sprinkle evenly over the tomatoes and block of feta along with the sea salt, oregano and lemon zest.
- Sprinkle the red pepper flakes over the feta and drizzle with 2-3 T of additional olive oil.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes until tomatoes are soft with a roasted skin. The feta should be a little toasted in appearance as well. You may put oven on convection setting for the last 3-5 minutes until desired roasted appearance is evident.
- Prepare pasta and pot of salted water to cook just prior to removing dish from the oven.
- For the basil chiffonade, layer fresh basil leaves on top of each other and roll to a cigar shape. Slice into thin strips and toss to loosen. Measure about 1/3 cup of chiffonade to toss in LAST before serving.
- Once removed from the oven, take out the garlic cloves with a spoon and squeeze out their contents back into the pan. With the back of a wooden spoon, smash the tomatoes, garlic and feta.
- Stir to combine into a delectable sauce. Pour in the cooked(hot) pasta and mix to coat. Sprinkle on the basil chiffonade and stir to distribute evenly before serving. If sauce seems to thick, add a bit of the reserved pasta water and stir until a smoother desired consistency is reached.
