INGREDIENTS
- 2 pints (20 oz)Â grape tomatoes
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 7 oz. block feta cheese, drained
- 10 oz. dry pasta (bite size)
- 5 medium garlic cloves, peeled and halved
- 8 oz. spinach, roughly chopped
- 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, or more to taste
- 1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil
- 2 Tbsp minced fresh parsley
- Â
Variations
- Use the pasta you have. Campanelle, rigatoni, rotini, penne, bow tie, or cavatappi are great options.
- Add a protein. You can mix in some cooked meat at the end – chicken, ground beef or ground turkey would be good options.
- Try another veggie in place of spinach. Good options would be asparagus, broccoli, frozen artichoke hearts or zucchini (just keep in mind cooking time will vary).
- If you are trying to reduce the carbs try with with zucchini noodles or spaghetti squash.
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Add feta, tomatoes, oil to baking dish: Add grape tomatoes and garlic to a 3 quart baking dish. Toss with olive oil and a few pinches of salt. Place feta in the center of tomatoes and turn to coat with oil.
- Bake in center of preheated oven for 30 minutes.
- Then remove the baking dish, raise oven rack up to upper 1/3 of the oven. Return baking dish to oven and increase oven to 450 degrees. Bake until tomatoes and cheese are starting to brown slightly, about 10 minutes longer.
- Cook pasta:Â Meanwhile boil pasta to al dente in salted water (I use 1 Tbsp salt and about 3 or 4 quarts of water), according to time listed on pasta package.
- Save some pasta water, cook spinach:Â Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water and right before draining pour and submerge spinach in with the pasta (it should wilt almost instantly). Drain pasta and spinach.
- Mix feta mixture:Â Smash the tomatoes, garlic, oil and feta together with the back of a wooden spoon.
- Add pasta and herbs:Â Toss pasta in with mixture along with basil, parsley and red pepper flakes.
- Thin and season:Â Thin mixture with a few tablespoons of pasta water at a time to reach desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm.