Baked Feta Pasta – Tiktok Original

Like everything else during the pandemic, I am late to the baked feta and pasta trend and controversy. So I had to see was it was all about.  I found the original recipe and gave it a try. Suffice it to say that there were no leftovers.  It was a hit, it was easy, and it was really yummy.  The salty baked feta, the sweet cherry tomatoes, the fresh garlic and basil all made the house smell fantastic.
 
I don’t have any edits or suggestions to add to the recipe, other than I increased the garlic a little bit and thought it was perfect, and they are right that it works best in a smaller baking dish so that all of the flavors can co-mingle. And adding the pinch of red pepper flakes once it is done cooking gave it just a enough of a kick.
 
Give it a try and let me know what you think!

​Baked Feta Pasta – Tiktok Original

Ingredients:

• 1 lb bowtie pasta
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 boxes cherry tomatoes (around 20-25 oz)
• 1 block feta about 8 oz
• 4 cloves garlic finely chopped
• 2 pinches red pepper flakes
• 1 handful fresh basil leaves
• salt and pepper

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 400. Add tomatoes, olive oil, and salt to a baking dish and toss.
• Place the block of feta in the middle and top with a splash more of olive oil plus a few pinches red pepper flakes. Bake for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, prepare bowtie pasta al dente according to directions then strain -- being sure to save some pasta water for later on.
• After the 30 minutes has past, crank the heat up to 450 and bake for another 5-10 minutes or until the feta and tomatoes have browned.
• Remove the baking dish from the oven and IMMEDIATELY add the garlic and basil and stir. The residual heat from the tomatoes and olive oil will take the raw edge off the garlic.
• Now add in the strained al dente pasta and stir one more time. Season with salt and pepper to taste!(And if the sauce is dry, you can add 1/4 cup pasta water and stir to loosen the sauce!)
• NotesIt works best if you use a small baking dish so the tomatoes are touching.If it's dry after cooking, add 1/2 cup pasta water and stir. 

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TikTok Feta Pasta - Before Cooking