Baked Feta, Tomato, and Spinach Pasta

If you spend even half as much time as I do on the Internet every day, then you’ve probably seen the latest (and most delicious-looking) trend to hit social media: drizzling blocks of feta cheese and loose tomatoes with wonderful, generous glugs of extra virgin olive and baking them at moderately-high heat until the tomatoes have ripened to the point of almost bursting, and the cheese has gotten so soft that when mixed with pasta, it melts like a dream. The original recipe was developed two years ago by Finnish food blogger Jenni Häyrinen, but it wasn’t until this year, thanks to TikTok, that it went super viral. In fact, the recipe got so huge that Finland actually had a brief but significant shortage of feta cheese nationwide! I’ve seen countless videos floating around Youtube and Instagram in the last two weeks, and though I tend to be extremely particular when it comes to jumping on the latest trends, I knew this was one I desperately had to try.

In all the videos I watched, the basic breakdown of the dish was this: drizzle the feta and tomatoes with olive oil, season with black pepper, and sprinkle a liberal amount of oregano (usually fresh) on top. Roast everything in the oven, then mix in cooked pasta. It just doesn’t get any simpler - or more hands-off - than that.

The final product looked amazing every time, but I wanted to take things up a notch. What other seasonings would go well with salty cheese, sweet tomatoes, and earthy olive oil? Then it hit me: za’atar, my favorite Middle Eastern spice blend that consists of sesame, thyme, marjoram, oregano, and sumac! Oregano, a key ingredient in the original recipe, would still be present, and joined by some other stellar spices blended together in perfect harmony. And because I sometimes need to trick myself into eating vegetables: I threw in some spinach, too! When it came to pasta, I wanted to keep things pretty simple. In some videos, I saw cavatappi being used. In others, classic macaroni. But there was something about a small, long pasta shape that appealed to me, so I went with penne rigate.

The result was, and I’m not exaggerating, one of the best pasta dishes I have EVER had. This Baked Feta, Tomato, and Spinach Pasta is earthy from the za’atar, slightly sweet from the roasted tomatoes, and perfectly creamy, briny, and a little tangy from the baked feta. Though the spinach takes a backseat to the other flavors, just a few minutes of being tossed into the still-warm pasta makes it pleasantly tender and a great supporting character to the main act. And the best part is, dinner was ready in 35 minutes, with very little clean-up at the end.

Internet trends come and go at the speed of light, but this Baked Feta, Tomato, and Spinach Pasta was born from a social media moment that I know is here to stay!

Baked Feta, Tomato, and Spinach Pasta

What You’ll Need:

• 1 pint grape tomatoes

• One 8 oz block of feta cheese

• Extra virgin olive oil

• Za’atar

• Freshly ground black pepper

• Salt

• 16 oz penne rigate pasta

• 3 oz baby spinach

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Place the feta cheese and tomatoes in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Drizzle the feta and tomatoes liberally with extra-virgin olive oil, za’atar, and freshly ground black pepper. Bake in the oven for 35 minutes.

While the feta and tomatoes are in the oven, cook the pasta in a heavy-bottomed pot filled with well-salted boiling water (the water should taste like the ocean). Follow package instructions for al dente. Just before the pasta is done, reserve 1 cup of pasta water. Drain the pasta.

As soon as the feta and tomatoes are out of the oven, add the pasta, spinach, and 1/4 cup of the reserved pasta water to the baking dish and stir until the ingredients are well-combined. Add more freshly ground black pepper to taste. Serve warm.

TO STORE: Pasta can be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Conchiglie with Sweet Chicken Sausage, Parmesan, and Spinach

I live for two things now that I’m in my late twenties: quick meals, and abundant leftovers.

When I was a kid, I hated leftovers, but never really understood why. The food usually looked and tasted the same, and was always on the table by 7:00 PM. I think maybe it was because at school, hot lunch options were always rotated, so you felt like you were getting a different meal every day. And as a sweet but very naive child with no comprehension of how long it might take a working mother to throw together a meal from scratch after a full day, I thought something new and different (or, at least different for the day) would be placed in front of me at home as well. Now, as an adult who’s had hectic workdays and super long commutes, I not only like leftovers, I cherish them.

This Conchiglie with Sweet Chicken Sausage, Parmesan, and Spinach, a new weeknight favorite, comes together so fast, and is the perfect two-pot meal to make for big and small families alike. If you’ve got a bigger family, there’s plenty of pasta, protein, and veggies for everyone. Or, if your family’s like mine and on the smaller side, you’ll have leftovers for days!

What I love about this pasta dish is the rich meatiness of the chicken sausage (the kind I get is beautifully pre-seasoned with sweet red peppers and fennel seeds), spiciness of the garlic, deep herbaceous flavor of the spinach, and just a hint of saltiness and cheesiness from the Parmesan cheese, which is generously sprinkled on top at the end.

Just 30 minutes is all you need to make this magical pasta dish happen. And if you don’t have conchiglie (better known as seashell pasta) in the pantry, don’t fret - boil whatever small pasta you’ve got on-hand and I promise you it’ll be golden!

Conchiglie with Sweet Chicken Sausage, Parmesan, and Spinach

What You’ll Need:

• 16 oz conchiglie

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

• 1.5 ibs sweet (or mild) chicken sausage

• 4 tablespoons salted butter

• 4 cloves garlic, minced

• 9 ounces (1 bag) fresh spinach

• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

• Coarse kosher salt

• Freshly-ground black pepper

Directions:

Cook the conchiglie according to the package instructions for al dente. Just before the timer goes off, reserve about 1 cup of pasta water. Once finished cooking, drain the conchiglie.

While the conchiglie is cooking, carefully cut the chicken sausage into bite-sized pieces. Set aside.

Set a large-bottomed pot such as a dutch oven over medium heat and add the olive oil. Next, add the sausage and cook until the pieces have started to brown, about 5 minutes.

Add the butter and minced garlic and stir frequently to ensure the butter melts fully and the garlic does not burn, about 1-2 minutes.

Turn the heat to medium-low, then add the spinach and 1/3 cup of the reserved pasta water and stir frequently until the spinach has shrunken significantly in size, about 2 minutes.

Turn off the heat and add the conchiglie, stirring continuously to release any steam from the spinach and to make sure the ingredients in the pot are thoroughly combined. Season with kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper to taste.

After about five minutes, sprinkle the Parmesan over the top and serve warm.

TO STORE: Once cool, pasta can be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week.

SOURCE Adapted from Budget Bytes.

Pasta al limone e prosciutto

Weeknight dinners are always the most challenging, between work and school and everything else you’ve got going on in your life, there’s very little time to lay out a meal everyone will love. But just because you’re limited on time (has anyone noticed the days are just getting shorter and shorter!?), doesn’t mean that what you put together in the kitchen has to be dull. What if I told you that you could get a sophisticated pasta dish on the dinner table in less than an hour without sacrificing flavor OR flair?

Are you as excited as I am? Cool, keep reading!

Pasta al limone is an absolute classic, known for the zippiness of the citrus mixed with the slight saltiness of the parmesan cream sauce. But what if we could elevate that flavor even more?

A couple weeks ago, while conducting a routine raid of the refrigerator to make room for the upcoming bi-weekly grocery trip, I thought about what I could add to the near-perfect pasta dish I was about to make that wouldn’t take away from any of its unique flavor. There in front of me, a package of prosciutto presented itself, leftover from making a big batch of collard greens (more on those at Thanksgiving!) earlier in the week. About 1.5 ounces remained of the 3 oz package, so I cut it up into 1-inch pieces, and tossed them in at the end. I wanted an element of smokiness to round out the other flavors, but didn’t want to overwhelm the dish with too much saltiness (parmesan cheese is naturally salty, plus coarse kosher salt is added in for additional seasoning). What I ended up with in each bite was salty-meaty bits of prosciutto, savoriness from the creamy cheese sauce, and a big hit of brightness coming not only from the lemon zest and juice in the sauce, but the long strips of lemon zest added on top. It was, in a word, perfetto!

This recipe is quick, easy, and can feed a family of four with the possibility of leftovers for lunch the next day. A delicious win-win if you ask me!

Pasta al Limone e Prosciutto

What You’ll Need:

• 1 lemon

• 16 oz spaghetti

• Coarse kosher salt

• 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 1 cup finely grated parmesan cheese

• 1.5 oz prosciutto, cut into 1-inch pieces

• Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Using a vegetable peeler or very sharp knife, cut 4 2-inch long strips of lemon zest. Slice each strip lengthwise into thin strands, then set aside for later. Using a microplane, finely zest the rest of the lemon into a large pot that can withstand high temperatures (like a dutch oven). Into a small bowl, juice the lemon until you’ve got about 2 tablespoons. Set aside for later.

In a large pot of boiling, liberally-salted water (the pasta water should taste like the ocean) cook the pasta following the package directions for al dente.

While the pasta is cooking, add the heavy whipping cream to the pot with the grated lemon zest and cook over medium heat, whisking often. Do this until the cream has come to a simmer (this should take about 2-4 minutes). Reduce the heat to medium-low, then whisk in the butter 1 tablespoon at a time, making sure each addition of butter has completely melted before adding another. Once all the butter has been added and the sauce looks thicker and creamier, remove the pot from the heat.

Just before removing the pasta from the pot of boiling water, carefully ladle about 1 cup of pasta water into a clean measuring cup. Add about 3/4 of the pasta water to the cream sauce and return the cream sauce to medium heat. Use tongs to transfer the pasta from the pot with boiling water to the pot of the cream sauce. Cook the pasta in the cream sauce, making sure to toss often. At this point, begin adding the grated parmesan in small increments until the cheese is fully melted and the sauce is creamy. Next, add the prosciutto and continue to cook, tossing the pasta often, until the prosciutto has had a chance to warm up, about 2 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice and season with kosher salt to taste.

Transfer the pasta to bowls and season with freshly ground black pepper. Top with the lemon zest strips and sprinkle on a little more parmesan cheese if preferred.

Source: Adapted from Bon Appetit

P.S. Let’s connect! Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!