New Improved Baked Feta Pasta | Food Wishes

Hello, this is Chef John from foodwishes.com with new and improved baked feta pasta. That's right, there is no mystery why this easy delicious recipe went viral. And while I thought it was great, I also thought there was a couple ways to improve it. And by the way, you'll probably never guess where this recipe was invented, and I'll share that later. But for now, I'll give you one clue. I will tell you before we finish. So, with that, let's go ahead and get started by drizzling a whole bunch of olive oil into our baking pan, which could also be a glass baking dish. And then to the oil, I'm going to add a whole bunch of finely minced garlic. And then we'll take a spoon and give that a mix. And this step here is one of the new improvements since most people toss it in once the feta is cooked. But I think the results are much better if that's infused into the oil while this bakes. And once that's set, we'll add two pints of cherry tomatoes, just like in the original recipe. And I went with half Cherokee purples and half red grape tomatoes. But any color, any style will work as long as they're nice and sweet. And that's it. We'll give that a quick toss with our spatula until they're nicely coated in that garlicky oil. At which point, we'll season this very simply with some kosher salt as well as some freshly ground black pepper. And we do not need a lot of salt here. Since feta is a fairly salty cheese, but I generally find we need at least one big extra pinch. And then speaking of feta, once we've given that a quick stir, we'll make a space in the center. And we'll transfer in a couple pieces of the milkiest, creamiest feta we can find. Okay, I love the dense, firm, salty version for some things, but for this, something creamier and mild is best. And instead of using 8 ounces, I'm actually going to use 10. And I find that couple extra ounces makes a big difference in the final sauce. So I think that's another improvement. As is this next secret ingredient, which would be to drizzle our cheese with some balsamic vinegar, which is going to add another very interesting sweet and sour element, which I think really elevates the flavor of the tomatoes. And then I'm going to finish up with a nice pinch of dry oregano, as well as some red chili flakes for a little heat. And of course, those things are optional, and you get to add whatever you want. I mean, you are after all the greater garbo of your fetus cargo. But unlike her, I do not think this cheese wants to be left alone. But anyway, whether you add that or not, we'll finish up with a nice big drizzle of olive oil over the top. And that's it. Our feta and friends are now ready to transfer into the center of a 450°ree oven for about 30 to 35 minutes or until our tomatoes are roasted very soft and our cheese is browned. And it looks like this. Oh yeah, that is gorgeous. And it's ready to stir into a sauce and then toss with our pasta, which we need to cook when this is about seven or eight minutes away from being done. And my favorite shape for this is something called kavatapi, which is basically a cavatelli that's hollow, but literally any shaped pasta will work. And we will cook that in salted water according to the directions. But very important, when it's almost done, let's ladle out about a half a cup of the pasta water since we will use that to adjust the texture of our sauce later. And again, we want to make sure we time the cooking of the pasta for right before our baked feta comes out of the oven. That way, our pasta will be freshly drained and nice and hot when we stir it in. And while our pasta is draining for a minute, we will grab a fork and we will smash and stir this into a sauce. And normally I really dislike tomato skins in my tomato sauce, but I'm happy to report for whatever reason they're almost imperceivable in this. And even though visually you can still see a few here and there, texturally speaking, they pretty much disappear. And then what we'll do once our sauce looks like this is toss in a whole bunch of freshly sliced basil as well as two or three tablespoons of our reserved pasta water, followed by our still very, very hot macaroni. And then we'll take a spatula or a spoon or in my case a spula and we'll mix everything together until those pieces of pasta are evenly coated and looking beautiful. And depending on the texture, you may want to add another splash or two of the pasta water, which I definitely did here. And by adjusting with that, we're going to keep everything nice and saucy. Okay? So, be sure to stir some of that in as you see fit. And keep in mind after we're done stirring this, as we go to serve it up, it's going to continue to absorb the moisture. So, it's actually totally fine if at this point it seems a little bit saucy. But anyway, mine was feeling and looking perfect. And once it is, we'll grab a fork and give this a taste and add a little more salt if we need. But mine was tasting exactly how I wanted. And by that I mean it was incredibly delicious with a perfect balance between the sweet and the tangy as well as that beautifully briny saltiness that the feta adds. So I could not have been happier with how that came out. And I went ahead and cleaned off the pan and sprinkled over a little more basil since I had to take some contractually obligated pictures after which I served up a nice big portion in a bowl. And that, my friends, is every bit as tasty and easy as the original version, except what I consider those slight improvements that I pointed out by cooking the garlic in the oil under the tomatoes and using more cheese and topping it with that drizzle of balsamic vinegar and then cooking it for a shorter time in a hotter oven than most recipes call for. Oh, and before we finish, I should finish by telling you the person that invented this was finished. or so I've been told by the finish. And that's it. Now I can finish by saying I really do hope you give this a try soon. So please follow the links below for the ingredient amounts, a printable written recipe, and much more info as usual. And as always, enjoy.