So, I finally cooked the viral TikTok baked feta pasta recipe. And you know what? It was actually good! Good enough to get me thinking about what made the recipe go viral in the first place: It is simple, yet very tasty.
If you haven’t already seen it in the wild, picture juicy cherry tomatoes roasted in the oven until bursting, surrounding a big block of feta cheese that turns soft and melty as it heats up. Once mixed together, everything melds into a rich and creamy sauce that erupts with sweet and bright tomato flavor. Toss with cooked pasta and you've got an easy weeknight dinner. This version incorporates the one element I wish the original had: HEAT.
Calabrian chile paste brings a spicy kick that offsets all the richness of the cheese. But that isn’t the only aspect that you can tweak to your liking. Customize this pasta dish by stirring spinach or torn kale leaves into the tomatoes and feta right after they come out of the oven so the heat can wilt them right into the sauce; or by garnishing with fresh basil leaves or oregano.
INGREDIENTS
680g. cherry or grape tomatoes
8 garlic cloves, smashed
⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt, plus more
½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
230g. feta
340g. medium pasta (such as campanelle, rigatoni, penne, rotini, farfalle, or cavatappi)
1 bunch basil, leaves picked
4 tsp. Calabrian chile paste or 2 drained Calabrian chiles, finely chopped
RECIPE PREPARATION
Preheat oven to 400°. Place 1½ lb. cherry or grape tomatoes and 8 garlic cloves, smashed, in a deep baking dish. Pour ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil over and sprinkle with 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt and ½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper. Place 230g feta in the middle of the baking dish, nestling into tomatoes. Bake until tomatoes have burst and feta is softened, 35–40 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook 680g. medium pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until al dente. Drain pasta, reserving ½ cup pasta cooking liquid.
Remove baking dish from oven; add leaves from 1 bunch basil and 4 tsp. Calabrian chile paste or 2 drained Calabrian chiles, finely chopped, and stir to combine. Transfer pasta and ¼ cup reserved pasta cooking liquid to baking dish and toss, adding more pasta cooking liquid if needed, until pasta is well coated. Divide pasta among shallow bowls to serve.
Recipe by Rachel Gurjar
This article originally appeared on Bon Appetit US
