TikTok Baked Feta Pasta for two

 

I am really excited to be sharing this lovely recipe with you today for baked Feta pasta with roasted grape tomatoes. It is a down-sized version of the original TikTok  pasta recipe hack that everyone has been going on about for a whole now.

I am not normally one to follow trends and I will put my hand up and admit, I don't really watch or participate in TikTok, but this recipe kept popping up and I was intrigued.   

It used very few ingredients and seemed to be very simple to make. I am all for simple to make recipes!  I can be rather lazy at times, but that doesn't mean that I don't want to eat delicious food!

I decided to try it for myself and to see if it was as delicious as everyone was saying it was.  I didn't want a full recipe however and so I cut the recipe in half. I also used inspiration from two separate recipes and combined the two into one which worked for me.

 

I was inspired by the version on Delish and another, slightly healthier version I found on Joe's Healthy Meals. Although both were quite similar, there were a few slight differences in the method, etc. I like to think I chose to incorporate the best of both. 

I have to say that this was one of the easiest recipes that I have ever made and the end result was incredibly tasty!  I knew I wanted to share this reduced version with you so that those of you who are seeing smaller sized recipes could enjoy it also!

 

Having tried it, I can see what all the hype was about now. This is fantastically tasty. Add to that the ease of preparation and you have a real winner here!

And I am not normally a person who enjoys eating the skin on cooked tomatoes.  I have to say that this is so delicious, I didn't mind the skins one little bit!

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE TIKTOK BAKED FETA PASTA FOR TWO

You will be surprised at just how well these few ingredients work together to make such a delicious dish of pasta!!

• 1 pint (16 oz/403g) ripe cherry or grape tomatoes
• 4 ounces (115g) block style Greek Feta cheese
• 1/4 cup (60ml) extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 2 fat cloves of garlic, peeled and lightly smashed
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• a small handful (about 10 ) fresh basil leaves cut chiffonade
• 4 ounces (115g) small sized pasta (penne, rigatoni, cappelletti)

 

You will want to use a good quality block Greek style Feta cheese. I like the one that comes in a brine. The product I used was made by a company called Holmstead, right here in Nova Scotia. I love that it was both fresh and local.

I was really luck in that I got not only the grape tomatoes and basil marked down by half as they were right on the sell by date.  Because I was using them right on the day, it didn't matter, and to be honest they looked perfectly fine.

I used Caesrecce Molisane pasta produced by an Italian company called Molisana.  I have been buying quite a bit of their pasta lately and its very good. I have liked every one I have tried.

This is a bit of a twisty kind of macaroni with a slit down one side. I thought it would hug the sauce perfectly and it did!  We sure have come a long way from when I was a child. We are so fortunate to have so many wonderful products to use at our fingertips today!

HOW TO MAKE TIKTOK BAKED FETA PASTA FOR TWO

As I said, this was incredibly easy to make. I have never made such an easy pasta dish from scratch in my life! Prepare to be amazed at the simplicity of this. I know I was!

Preheat the oven to 400*F/200*C/ gas mark 6. Have ready a baking dish large enough to hold the cheese and tomatoes in a single layer.

Place the block of cheese in the center of the dish. Place the tomatoes in the dish around the cheese, along with the two cloves of garlic.

Drizzle the olive oil over everything. Season with the salt, pepper and the Italian seasoning. Pop the baking dish into the oven.

Bake uncovered for 25 to 30 minutes, until the tomatoes and cheese both start to brown slightly. (If it needs a bit longer add 5 minutes or so to the bake time.)

 

While the tomatoes and cheese are baking put a pot of lightly salted water on to boil. Cook the pasta to al dente according to the package directions. Drain, removing and reserving 1/4 cup (60ml) of the pasta water. Keep the cooked pasta warm.

Once the tomatoes and cheese have lightly browned, remove from the oven. Mash lightly together with a fork.

Stir in the cooked pasta and basil leaves. Toss everything together until well mixed. Add a bit of the reserved pasta water as required to make a creamy sauce. Garnish with more chopped basil and serve warm.

 

 

I have to say that this was so delicious that I will definitely be making it again. I really want to make it when my daughter is staying with me at the end of July. 

I know she will love it.  Her husband is really picky when it comes to eating anything and its not something he would ever try. This way she will be able to try it and I will get to enjoy it again. 

There is just enough garlic, tomatoes, cheese and basil in this.  I loved the quickness and ease of its preparation.  Most of all I loved its fresh, delicious taste!  Prepare yourself to fall in love.  Seriously.

 

Pasta is one of my favorite food groups. My ex did not like pasta at all and so I only made it very rarely. Now I can indulge to my heart's content. Some other incredibly easy pasta favorites of mine are:

PASTA E PISELLI -  Simple ingredients put together in the simplest way. Pasta, baby peas, good chicken broth, onions, cheese and a bit of seasoning.  Its such a simple thing and yet so delicious. I love this!

A SIMPLE PASTA WITH CHICKEN BROTH, BUTTER & CHEESE -  That is literally all this is and yet in its simplicity it is incredibly tasty!  Stock and pasta are the basis of this very simple and yet delicious dish in which pasta is quite simply cooked in a quantity of good chicken stock.  It doesn't get much easier than this.

TikTok Baked Feta Pasta

Yield: 2

Author: Marie Rayner

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 30 MinTotal time: 40 Min

This is a downsized version of a viral TikTok recipe for a Baked Feta Pasta with Tomatoes. It serves two people and is quite simply very easy and incredibly delicious!

Ingredients

• 1 pint (16 oz/403g) ripe cherry or grape tomatoes
• 4 ounces (115g) block style Greek Feta cheese
• 1/4 cup (60ml) extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 2 fat cloves of garlic, peeled and lightly smashed
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• a small handful (about 10 ) fresh basil leaves cut chiffonade
• 4 ounces (115g) small sized pasta (penne, rigatoni, cappelletti)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400*F/200*C/ gas mark 6. Have ready a baking dish large enough to hold the cheese and tomatoes in a single layer.
2. Place the block of cheese in the center of the dish. Place the tomatoes in the dish around the cheese, along with the two cloves of garlic.
3. Drizzle the olive oil over everything. Season with the salt, pepper and the Italian seasoning. Pop the baking dish into the oven.
4. Bake uncovered for 25 to 30 minutes, until the tomatoes and cheese both start to brown slightly. (If it needs a bit longer add 5 minutes or so to the bake time.)
5. While the tomatoes and cheese are baking put a pot of lightly salted water on to boil. Cook the pasta to al dente according to the package directions. Drain, removing and reserving 1/4 cup (60ml) of the pasta water. Keep the cooked pasta warm.
6. Once the tomatoes and cheese have lightly browned, remove from the oven. Mash lightly together with a fork.
7. Stir in the cooked pasta and basil leaves. Toss everything together until well mixed. Add a bit of the reserved pasta water as required to make a creamy sauce.
8. Garnish with more chopped basil and serve warm.

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