Baked Feta Pasta

This baked feta pasta went mega viral on the internet and we decided to give it a go. It is very simple and quick to make, flavoured well with tomatoes, feta cheese, and basil leaves. This is a great low effort meal for those busy days.

For our recipe we have used the PastaZARA Penne Rigate, provided to us by one of our partners, Sosun Fihaara. This pasta cooks very well and holds sauces well. It does not have a heavy starchy taste, making it perfect for simple dishes such as this.

Serving size: 2 people

Ingredients:

For the pasta

• 150g PastaZARA Penne Rigate
• 4 cups of water
• 1 tsp salt

For the baked feta

• 2 cups cherry tomatoes
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 170g feta cheese block
• ½ of a medium-sized onion (finely chopped)
• 3 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp dried basil leaves
• 5-inch fresh thyme sprig
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• ½ tsp chilli flakes
• 6 to 7 fresh basil leaves

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius for 10 minutes. To an oven safe baking dish (we used an 8×6-inch tray that was 2-inches deep), add in 2 cups of cherry tomatoes and drizzle ¼ cup olive oil. Coat the tomatoes well with the oil using your hands. 
2. Place the 170g feta cheese block in the middle of the tray with the cherry tomatoes, and flip over so that both sides are coated well.
3. Then add ½ of a medium-sized onion (finely chopped), 3 cloves of garlic (finely chopped), ¼ tsp salt, and ½ tsp ground black pepper. You can just sprinkle these on top of the cheese and tomatoes.
4. Place the tray in the middle rack of the oven and bake for 35 minutes at 200 degrees Celsius. At this point, the tomatoes and feta cheese will be fully softened and it would release liquid in to the tray.
5. As the cheese and tomatoes bake, cook the pasta. For this, add 4 cups of water and 1 tsp salt to a medium sized pot and bring to a boil on high heat. This took us around 12 minutes.
6. Once it starts boiling, add in 150g PastaZARA Penne Rigate and cook for 11 minutes on high heat, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon or spatula. The pasta should be soft and chewy once cooked. Drain and set aside.
7. When the cheese and tomatoes are done baking, remove from the oven and immediately mash the tomatoes by pressing down with a fork. Make sure all the tomatoes are evenly mashed. Then mash the feta cheese with the fork as well.
8. Move this mixture into a large bowl, and add in 1 tbsp dried basil leaves, 5-inch fresh thyme sprig, ½ tsp dried oregano, and ½ tsp chilli flakes. Mix using a spoon until evenly combined.
9. Finally, add in the cooked pasta and mix well until fully coated with the sauce. Move the pasta back into the baking tray and top with 6 to 7 fresh basil leaves.