BAKED FETA PASTA WITH ARUGULA AND HOT PEPPERS

RECIPES

TIME TO MAKE:

25 MINS

The early months of 2021 were dominated by one recipe and one recipe alone: baked feta pasta, a.k.a. “TikTok pasta.” The recipe’s viral nature came no doubt due to its simplicity: take a brick of feta, surround it with cherry tomatoes, add oil, salt and pepper, bake it, and then mix the resulting ooey-gooey, cheesy sauce with cooked pasta. Easy, straightforward, and undeniably delicious.

At this point, however, you’ve either already tried (and loved) TikTok’s famous baked feta pasta, or you didn’t find it mouth-watering enough to make at home. In either case, we’ve mixed up the recipe, with a hearty serving of leafy greens and a couple of hot peppers for added punch. We think it’s just different enough that you’ll want to try it again with our additions, or try it for the first time!

INGREDIENTS

10oz farfalle, penne, or pasta of choice (choose short macaroni rather than long pasta, such as spaghetti or linguine)
8oz block of feta cheese, drained
3 cups arugula, loosely packed
20oz sweet n neat tomatoes, whole (if your tomatoes are larger than the size of your thumb, you may wish to cut them in half)
3 biquinho red Brazil peppers, thinly sliced, seeds removed and discarded (if you like your food on the spicy side, you can leave some or all of the seeds in)
½ cup plus 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

MADE WITH

ARUGULA

SWEET N NEAT TOMATOES

BIQUINHO RED BRAZIL PEPPERS

DIRECTIONS

Preheat your oven to 400F/200C.
Heat 3 tbsp olive oil to medium-high in a frying pan or cast-iron skillet. Add the biquinho red Brazil peppers and reduce heat to medium; cook, stirring occasionally, for about five minutes. Set aside.
Toss the sweet n neat tomatoes with olive oil, salt, and pepper until evenly coated.
Place the feta in the centre of a medium baking dish, and surround with the tomatoes.
Place the baking dish in the oven, on a centre rack, and cook until the feta has softened and the whole tomatoes have burst. Increase the heat to 450F/230C and bake for another ten to 15 minutes, or until the feta has turned golden brown.
In the meantime, cook the pasta in salted water according to package instructions. Remove about a cup of pasta water, and set aside. Drain the pasta well.
Place the arugula in the bottom of a heat-safe bowl, and pour the pasta on top. The idea here is to use the heat of the pasta to slightly wilt the arugula, but not cook it, so try to complete steps 5-6 right before your feta and tomatoes are finished baking.
Remove the feta and tomatoes from the oven, and combine them into a smooth, creamy sauce. Add the peppers and the oil they were cooked in, and combine well. You can add some pasta water to your sauce if it becomes too thick, but this might not be necessary; use your judgment!
Mix the feta, tomato, and hot pepper sauce with the cooked pasta and arugula. Serve immediately.