The Famous Baked Tomato & Feta Pasta Dish
/Jumping in on the Internet Sensation!
Once upon a time, there was a pasta dish that became a renowned actor on the world stage. This dish was originally created by Tiiu Piret of Finland in 2018, and picked up by Jenni Hayrinen, also of Finland, on her blog “Liemessa”. Jenni adapted it into a more simple version in 2019, becoming the viral rage in Finland. It became the hashtag #uunifetapasta meaning “oven feta pasta”. Enter Mackenzie Smith of the blog, “Grilled Cheese Social” in the USA. Maggie posted yet another adaptation to TikTok…. and the rest is history! It swept the Internet and became an overnight sensation, inspiring cooks and chefs everywhere to try their hand at this 20 minute one-dish phenom.
“The stores actually ran out of feta cheese here.”
And so, I too, could not wait to get my hands on these ingredients! I was excited to try what had seemingly become a bit of an Internet game with cooks displaying their varying renditions to include the additions of asparagus, chicken, sausage or shrimp. One person actually added tomato sauce to it for more of a traditional pasta dish. Then there is the cheese deliberation…I’ve read goat, crumbled feta, ricotta and even cream cheese as substitutes. And then the type of pasta deliberation…all kinds of pasta have been used.
A clean, easy and tasty dish!
My adaptation was a combination of what I thought the dish was meant to be; simple, clean, easy and tasty. My expectation was that I would have to experiment a couple of times to perfect it. I expected a heavy, cheesy tasting pasta. It was not. It was perfect the very first try!
Let’s cook!
I had a 16.5 ounce box of sweet tomatoes and used them all, placing them in a 9X12 glass baking dish to enable a single layer with no overlapping. My chunk of feta from goat and sheep’s milk was only 4.5 ounces and not the 7 ounces I read in some of the recipes. I used the newest gift to my kitchen, Greek olive oil, sent to me straight from Greece via the Fancy Peasant.
*****Note: Some suggest a smaller, more crowded dish with over-lapping tomatoes to create a more juicy outcome. That was not my experience. My dish was filled with bubbling liquid!
Ingredients
1/2 cup of GEVOO (Greek olive oil from @Fancy Peasant) It’s a perfect pairing to Greek Feta
16.5 oz of Sweet cherry tomatoes
4.7 oz of Greek Feta (from sheep and goat) It was just the size I grabbed.
S & P to taste
3 Pinches of Italian Seasoning (parsley, oregano, basil & thyme)
2 Garlic cloves smashed
2 Tbs of Sugar (tasty touch!)
2 Tbs Crushed Red Pepper (or to taste)
2 Handfuls Fresh Basil (rough chopped)
12 Ounces Pasta
Note: Definitely a thicker, heavier pasta, like a rigatoni, gemelli, bowtie orecchiette or farfalle. String versions, like spaghetti, tend to make the dish mushy in texture.
Topping for Feta
A pinch of Italian Seasoning
S & P to taste
Drizzle of GEVOO
Toss tomatoes with GEVOO, salt & pepper, Italian seasoning, red pepper and sugar. Place in baking dish in single layer. Place block of feta in the middle and sprinkle with another pinch of S&P and Italian Seasoning. Place Garlic in between tomatoes.
Bake in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes uncovered
Rigatoni - Cook pasta according to directions, but on the al dente side (firm), and drain, reserving a cup of the water, if needed, at the end to thin your sauce. Pasta should be ready about the same time you remove your dish from the oven. It’s like a symphony!
I did not need to add pasta water at the end. My dish was moist & creamy!
After 20 minutes it was done! I did not touch it while baking. However, I decided to give it a quick hi broil for another 2-3 minutes to give the tomatoes a bit of a char color. It came out of the oven cooked to perfection and looking beautiful. The stirring was the actual fun as the dish suddenly came into focus with a creamy sauce, beautiful in color. I added 3/4 lb of rigatoni combining it to be more composed, then topped with a handful of rough chopped basil which gave it a sophisticated fragrance and a more refreshingly complex end. It was delicious. !VOILA!
I thought it would feel and taste heavy, But not at all! Maybe because I used less Feta than original 7 ounces
And best of all, it was as easy as it proclaims to be. A 400 degree oven for 20 minutes. DONE. The sauce was perfect. The cheesy sauce wrapped itself around each rigatoni, so that each bite of this aldente pasta was robust with flavour by itself. The first taste is the pasta followed by the feta and then the tomato and fresh basil.
~ Keep it simple. That’s the dish ~
If you feel you must add protein, I suggest serving it on the side. Or, serve your protein as the entree with this masterpiece as your side!
Plating and Serving Suggestions
I like the drama of serving pasta in an over-sized bowl with a large rim. I place 2 cups in the middle of the bowl, top with more crushed red pepper (we like spicy!) and sprinkle chopped basil all over the pasta and the rim of the dish! Be sure you scoop up some of the tomatoes for the top for color and presentation! Shown here, I used two smaller pasta bowls set on dinner plates for a lighter dinner served in smaller portions.
