Baked Feta Pasta
An easy-to-impress pasta dish. Cherry tomatoes, feta and herbs meld together for a savory, low-effort dinner delight.
Ingredients
- 1 shallot or onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 punnets cherry tomatoes
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt
- Crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 Block feta
- 3 Sprigs fresh thyme
- 1/2 500g pack of pasta penne, farfalloni or fussilli
- 1 Zest of lemon optional
- Fresh basil for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 200°C. In a large ovenproof skillet or a medium-sized baking dish, combine the cherry tomatoes, thinly sliced shallot, minced garlic and a tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil. Season with a pinch of salt and a dash of red pepper flakes. Toss these ingredients together, ensuring that they are well combined.
- Place the feta cheese block into the centre of the tomato mixture. Drizzle the remaining olive oil over the feta cheese. Scatter some fresh thyme sprigs over the cherry tomatoes. Pop this skillet or dish into the preheated oven and bake for 40 to 45 minutes. You'll know it's done when the tomatoes are bursting with flavour and the feta cheese is beautifully golden on top.
- While the feta and tomatoes are baking to perfection, prepare your pasta. In a large pot, bring salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta until it's just al dente according to the package instructions. Before draining the pasta, make sure to reserve about ½ cup of pasta water, which will come in handy later.
- Once the feta and tomatoes are ready, take the skillet or baking dish out of the oven. Add the cooked pasta, the reserved pasta water and some lemon zest (if you're opting for that zesty kick). Gently stir everything until it's beautifully combined. Finish it off with a generous garnish of fresh basil leaves.