Baked Feta Pasta

• Cherry Tomatoes(500 g)
• Feta(200 g)
• Pasta(300 g)
• Spinach(120 g)
• Garlic(4 cloves)
• Olive oil(3 tbsp)
• Dried Oregano(1 tsp)
• Chili flakes(½ tsp)optional
• Black pepper(½ tsp)
• Salt(1 tsp)
• Fresh basil(15 g)
• Lemon(1)
• Parmesan(40 g)optional

Method

1. 1

   Preheat the oven to 200°C. Peel and thinly slice {Garlic}. Zest and halve {Lemon}, and roughly tear the {Fresh basil}.

   ~10 min

2. 2

   In a baking dish, combine {Cherry Tomatoes}, {Garlic}, {Olive oil}, {Oregano}, {Chili flakes}, half the {Black pepper}, and half the {Salt}. Nestle {Feta} in the middle and turn it once to coat lightly.

3. 3

   Bake until the tomatoes burst and slump and the {Feta} is very soft and lightly golden on top, 25 minutes.

   ~25 min

4. 4

   Meanwhile, cook {Pasta} in a large pan of salted water until just al dente, about 10 minutes. Reserve 200ml pasta water, then drain.

   ~10 min

5. 5

   Mash the baked {Feta} and tomatoes together in the dish. Stir in {Spinach}, {Fresh basil}, {Lemon} zest, 2 tbsp lemon juice, the remaining {Black pepper}, and the remaining {Salt}. Add the drained {Pasta} with enough reserved pasta water to loosen into a thick, glossy sauce, then mix in {Parmesan} if using.

   ~5 min

6. 6

   Serve the pasta hot, with extra torn basil and a little more black pepper over the top if you like.