Baked Feta Pasta
The viral baked feta pasta with roasted tomatoes and asparagus, extracted from a cooking video and tossed into a creamy sauce.
The original video
Recipe from @NatashasKitchen on YouTube
Ingredients
- Tomatoes (cherry or regular) — about 500 g
- Asparagus — 200 g (can be replaced with other vegetables)
- Olive oil (extra virgin) — 3-4 tablespoons
- Garlic — 3-4 cloves
- Salt, black pepper — to taste
- Feta — 200-250 g (block)
- Pasta (durum wheat) — 300 g
- Parsley — a small bunch (optional)
Instructions
- In a deep baking dish, mix the tomatoes and asparagus, drizzle with olive oil, and add the chopped garlic, salt, and pepper.
- Make an indentation in the center and place the block of feta there.
- Bake at 200°C (400°F) for about 30 minutes, until the tomatoes burst and the feta is soft and creamy.
- Boil the pasta in salted water until al dente.
- Mash the baked feta and vegetables together into a creamy sauce and mix with the pasta, adding parsley and a little minced garlic if desired.
- Serve hot, garnished with fresh parsley.
The dish that broke the internet earns its fame honestly: a whole block of feta bakes in a bed of tomatoes until it slumps into a tangy, salty cream that needs no more than a fork to become a sauce. Roasted asparagus adds a green, slightly bitter edge that keeps it from feeling one-note.
Tips: Reserve a splash of the starchy pasta water before draining so you can loosen the mashed feta into a silky, coating sauce. Cut any large tomatoes so they collapse in the same time as the cherry ones, and don’t skip the resting garlic clove stirred in at the end for a fresh bite against the roasted sweetness.