The viral internet sensation is actually worth all the hype. As this pasta trend started on the internet, I saw the photos and videos and thought that the pasta looked so dry. This is not the biggest vote of confidence, but I was fully expecting this to be boring and bland. I wasn’t expecting so much flavor and cream to come from the feta—it melts like a dream! Plus, baking the tomatoes and cheese in the oven together adds a beautiful nuttiness to the dish. This is balanced nicely with the brightness of the lemon zest and juice. It’s amazing how you can develop such complex flavors in such a short amount of time—with little to no prep to boot! (Have I convinced you to make this yet?)
You feta believe that Chloe loved this dish! She was also impressed by the level of complexity in this dish. She gave it two whole licks! We’ll call that 9/10 for our favorite cat food critic.
Notes
Variations
The possibilities with this dish are seemingly endless. Personally, I think this would be delicious if you used fresh basil and balsamic vinegar instead of the thyme, lemon juice, lemon zest and olives this recipe calls for. I've also seen a lot of people adding roasted chicken to the finished product. Let me know what tasty variations for this recipe you come up with!
Baked Tomato and Feta Pasta
Yield: 6 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes
Ingredients
½ white onion
3-4 large garlic cloves
2 quarts grape tomatoes
1 8 oz block of feta cheese
½ cup olive oil
2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 Tbsp dried thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
1 lb penne pasta
3-4 Tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp lemon zest
1 can black olives
½ cup reserved pasta water
Parmesan, optional, for garnish
Directions
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
Prepare the vegetables by finely dicing the onion and garlic.
Combine the onion, garlic, tomatoes, olive oil, pepper flakes, thyme, salt and pepper in a large casserole dish.
Place the block of feta cheese in the center of the dish.
Bake the dish in the oven for 40-45 minutes.
In the meantime, cook the pasta according to package directions for al dente. Reserve some pasta water before draining the water from your pasta.
Using a fork, mix together the contents of the baking dish until you have a creamy sauce. Add in the canned black olives. Add in the lemon zest and lemon juice and mix.
Add the pasta in batches and mix it together until the pasta is well and evenly coated.
Add the reserved pasta water slowly and in batches, mixing until you have your desired consistency. You don't have to use all the pasta water if you don't want it.
Sprinkle on Parmesan cheese and serve while warm.
Enjoy!
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