be still my beating heart.

I had seen & heard about the Feta Pasta trend but I hadn’t seen an actual recipe written out, just a bunch of damn pictures. I won’t lie, when I first saw the recipe written out on a little recipe card at Harris Teeter, my heart sank a bit.

I love pasta. (duh) I love Feta Cheese. I love garlic & spices. But I couldn’t help but feel underwhelmed when I read the original recipe – and shit, it seemed like a TON of olive oil – also completely unnecessary.

But since I am a dutiful reader & recipe tryer – I will give anything a first and fair shot. I followed the recipe to a T….and sadly, it was *just OK* Chris didn’t let me live it down. I was devastated. It all sounded SO rich and decadent. Salty Feta, blistered tomatoes & all the garlic my little heart could handle – sounded heavenly. Until it wasn’t.

Southernisms, 2

Regular cherry / grape tomatoes are boring AF. This dish could be so insanely eloquent! So I made it happen – the “Rainbow Mixed Baby Tomatoes” always do the trick! I feel like the colors play well with the red pepper flakes & the green of the basil – plus the yellow tomatoes are so sweet!

My last & final play was to reduce the amount of olive oil – the first time I made this recipe, the oil was SO damn hot that my red pepper flakes were charred & that made my kitchen smell like burnt-spicy-ass-smoke. So basically, it was not my favorite.

The OG recipe calls for 1 whole cup of olive oil….thats a LOT. Like A LOT A LOT. My pasta ended up being overly oily & when I mashed the warmed Feta, it didn’t mix to a silky consistency like I had anticipated. So that was gross & disappointing.

Now that I think about it….I’m genuinely surprised Chris ever let me try & make this dish again because I feel like I complained a hell of a lot more than he did when we ate it for the first time HAHAHA

MOVING ON.

I’ll let y’all in on a little secret….Ready-Made-Pesto from Costco is a damn lifesaver. It’s SO good, SO fresh & SO flavorful. Instead of the full cup of Olive Oil for this recipe, I halved it and used the other ½ cup for Pesto instead – extra flavor with the olive oil built in with the pesto – genius! I also sprinkle in a TBS or two of Italian Herb Seasoning for an extra punch – this dish deserves all the stops!

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.

Have a large pot of water filled & ready to boil.

Using a HEAVY, oven-safe pot, empty the 2 tomato pints directly into the pot. ((I use a mini Dutch Oven and that thing is *chefs kiss* it works so perfectly & holds onto heat really well!))

Pour in the olive oil & stir in the Pesto.

Chop the garlic & shallots – add those to the pot with the tomatoes & olive oil mixture.

Make sure the tomatoes are well-coated with the olive oil & pesto.

Sprinkle in the spices & stir to combine.

Lastly, place the BRICK of Feta in the pot and nestle the tomatoes all around.

Drizzle in a TSP or so of olive oil directly on top of the feta – you can add some more spices on top if you wish!

Place your Dutch Oven / Heavy Ass Pan with all your goodness into the oven.

Set a timer for 20 minutes – once this first timer goes off, start boiling your water so the timings will be close in proximity to when the Feta is supposed to come out of the oven, so your pasta should be done as well.

Boil your choice of noodles – set the timer to be 2 minutes less than what the package directions say – trust me.

Your Feta will bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes – this is approximate. You want the Feta to be completely soft & melty, but not burnt. Hence why to set the timer to give it a little peek while your pasta is cooking.

If you Feta comes out of the oven before your pasta is done cooking, it’s no problem. The heavy pan will hold in the heat, giving you a few minutes of grace to finish getting your shit together.

Using a mashed potato masher (if that’s what they are called?) and gently, carefully mash your burst tomatoes & sizzling Feta – it should be easy and come together beautifully.

When your pasta is done boiling, DO NOT DRAIN IT.

Using a hand-held strainer, scoop out your pasta & empty it directly into your Feta Pot – the little bit of extra pasta water will act as a glue & make your Feta sauce even thicker & silkier – can you imagine? (in my Ina Garten voice)

I usually mix everything together after a few spoonfuls of pasta just so I don’t overwhelm my pot – it gives the pasta a minute to mingle with the sauce & your pasta won’t be overcooked since you set your timer early – RIGHT?!

I cannot imagine the smells you are experiencing right now – that pesto will be salty, extra garlicky & the punch of basil will be EXCEPTIONAL with the tang from the Feta.

The Feta will be salty, soft & oozy delicious. The tomatoes will be soft & fleshy, perfect for stirring around with all the other ingredients & break apart even further!

We serve our Elevated AF TikTok Feta Pasta with chicken tenders & a smattering of fresh basil, but you do you, boo. You can’t go wrong with this dish. I genuinely love the additions I’ve come up with to make this dish what it deserves – because seriously, MAD PROPS to whoever thought melted Feta in a stove would be a game-changer. You win.