This ain't Bon Appetit, but it's accessible cooking for all levels - something food TikTok should get credit for more widely. Instead, that's what makes it wonderful and appealing, likely contributing to its viral success. That the recipe is simple and fail-safe isn't a flaw in my eyes. It's quite heartening to know that in spite of everything holding us apart right now, we are still finding ways to make food a shared cultural experience. The fact that thousands (or millions, if you go by TikTok views) of people around the world have in recent weeks gone to their kitchens, placed cheese on a tray, licked the salty residue from their fingers, heard the soft thuds of tomatoes cascading down around it, drizzled the oil, sprinkled the seasoning and smelled the hot, sweet garlicky air gasp from their ovens, before crushing everything together to make a swirling pink carby mess - it's kind of remarkable when you think about it.Įating meals with others has been a bonding experience since the dawn of human civilization. 5 big batch recipes to save you from cooking every night.Green Chef review: Healthy meal kit delivery built for an organic lifestyle.HelloFresh meal kit review: Lots of choices and easy to make.
#FETA PASTA PLUS#
The 5 huge reasons you should buy an Instant Pot, plus tips and recipes.That's the magic of cheesy pasta for you. It didn't change my life or blow my mind, but it did bring me comfort and joy on a cold, gray February evening. I knew it would be, simply because I've been making variations of this dish since I was 14 years old and started cooking up afternoon snacks for my friends and me to eat in bed during school holidays. It's pasta, cheese and tomatoes - of course it's delicious. So you might be wondering, as many people in TikTok comments have wondered, is it actually any good? I had some reservations - we're going all-in on fresh tomatoes in February? Really? - but as someone who would eat pasta for every meal if that was a socially acceptable lifestyle choice, it didn't take much to convince me. (The feta pasta hashtag on the platform now boasts almost 515 million views.)Īfter seeing the recipe pop up on my For You page a dozen or so times and then seeing it cross over to Instagram, I finally decided to take one of the several blocks of feta that sit in my fridge at all times and give it a whirl. At the end of January, a number of TikTok creators picked up on the recipe and helped send it viral. In case you haven't already heard of it, the TikTok feta pasta is a recipe that can be traced back to Finnish food blogger Jenni Hayrinen, who told Today that it became so popular in Finland that stores there ran out of feta. Finally, I already eat so much feta it feels like Greece might one day thank me for personally contributing such a significant wedge of my income to its GDP. Second, despite having a whole library of cookbooks, I seem to almost exclusively pick up new recipes from TikTok these days. First, it is almost ridiculously easy to cook. Return to the oven until lightly golden (broil if desired).It's shocking for a few reasons that it took me so long to make the feta pasta that went viral on TikTok a few weeks ago. Sprinkle with parmigiano reggiano (or mozz) and panko. Mix everything together with a few dashes of reserved pasta water just to moisten everything and meld the flavors.Add torn basil, lemon zest, and cooked pasta. Use tongs to squish out the garlic (and fork to smash the individual cloves), and mix the feta together with the tomatoes. Take out the tomatoes and feta when the tomatoes are nicely blistered and burst and the feta is lightly browned on top.Right before the pasta is almost "al dente", use a mug to reserve pasta water and drain. Start cooking it when there are about 7-8 minutes left on the tomatoes. Meanwhile, get a pot of boiling water going for the pasta.
Place in oven and set a time for 40 minutes. Add in the garlic head and drizzle with honey. Season with black pepper, red chili flakes, dried oregano. Add the tomatoes and arrange the feta block in the center.