Italian

Baked feta pasta

Name: Baked feta pasta recipe
Yield: 6
Cuisine: /italian
Ingredients: 1 large eggplant (around 500g), cut into 2.5cm chunks; 400g cherry tomatoes; 4 garlic cloves, skin on; 3 tbs olive oil; 2 tsp Turkish pepper flakes, plus extra for serving; 2 tsp dried oregano; 1 tsp cumin seeds; 200g feta; 500g pasta shells; 2 tbs tomato paste; Juice of 1/2 lemon; A handful of finely chopped parsley leaves

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by John Gregory-Smith

May 20, 2022

This was a recipe that went viral on social media. You bake a whole block of feta with tomatoes and herbs. Everything goes super-soft in the oven, so you can mash it into a creamy sauce for your pasta.

1 large eggplant (around 500g), cut into 2.5cm chunks
400g cherry tomatoes
4 garlic cloves, skin on
3 tbs olive oil
2 tsp Turkish pepper flakes, plus extra for serving
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp cumin seeds
200g feta
500g pasta shells
2 tbs tomato paste
Juice of 1/2 lemon
A handful of finely chopped parsley leaves

Method

1.

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Put the eggplant, tomatoes and garlic into a roasting dish and add the olive oil, Turkish pepper flakes, oregano, cumin and a good pinch of salt. Mix together.
2.

Nestle the feta into the middle and flip it a few times so it is coated in the oil. Roast for 40-45 minutes until everything is super soft.
3.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling water for 10-12 minutes or until al dente. Scoop out some of the pasta water using a heatproof jug, then drain the pasta.
4.

Squeeze the garlic cloves out of their skins and return them to the roasting dish. Add the tomato paste and lemon juice and mash everything together until you have a creamy sauce. I like to leave some of the eggplant pieces whole for texture. You need to work quickly here so that the feta is still really hot when you mash it.
5.

Chuck the pasta, 100ml of pasta water and the parsley into the sauce and toss together until the pasta is super-creamy. Add more pasta water if needed. Divide between six serving bowls and serve immediately with extra pepper flakes.