Baked Feta Pasta

https://youtu.be/lmvf4ChOHE4

The viral baked feta pasta that took over the internet. Creamy feta, sweet roasted tomatoes and garlic all baked together in one dish.

If you somehow missed the baked feta pasta craze, this is the recipe that took social media by storm. After seeing it everywhere for so long, I finally decided it was time to make it myself.

The premise is brilliantly simple: bake a block of feta with tomatoes, garlic and olive oil until everything is soft, caramelised and bubbling, then stir it all together with pasta.

Baked Feta Pasta

Serves 4

Ingredients

250g block feta

500g cherry tomatoes

4 garlic cloves, smashed

60ml extra virgin olive oil

2 tsp fresh oregano (or 1 tsp dried)

1/2 tsp chilli flakes

Freshly ground black pepper

Pasta

300g rigatoni

30g grated Parmesan

20g toasted pine nuts

Small handful fresh basil, torn

1-2 tsp balsamic vinegar

100-150ml reserved pasta water

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C fan (220°C conventional).

Add the tomatoes and garlic to a baking dish. Sprinkle over the oregano, chilli flakes and a generous amount of black pepper, then drizzle with the olive oil and toss together.

Nestle the block of feta into the middle and drizzle with a little more olive oil.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the tomatoes have burst and the feta is golden around the edges.

Meanwhile, toast the pine nuts in a dry frying pan over a medium heat for 2–3 minutes until lightly golden. Set aside.

Cook the pasta in well-salted water until al dente, reserving 150ml of the cooking water before draining.

Mash the roasted tomatoes and feta together until smooth and creamy.

Stir in the Parmesan and 1 teaspoon of balsamic vinegar.

Add the cooked pasta along with enough pasta water to create a silky sauce.

Fold through most of the basil and half of the toasted pine nuts.

Serve topped with the remaining basil, pine nuts, extra Parmesan, cracked black pepper and, if you like, a final drizzle of balsamic glaze.