We Tried The TikTok Recipe For Baked Feta Pasta + We're SOLD (2024)

FAQs

How did baked feta pasta gain recognition? ›

Though Tiiu Piret posted a version of the dish on her blog in February 2018, fellow Finnish blogger Jenni Hayrinen is credited with making uunifetapasta (Finnish for “oven-baked feta pasta”) go viral in her country after posting her simplified version a year later.

Give your cheese a rinse to control its salt content

Rinsing cheese under water may sound counterintuitive, but it's a surefire way to control the flavor of your feta. According to Olive Tomato, feta, at its best, is salty, rich, and tangy.

The history of Feta cheese

Polyphemus was carrying the milk that he collected from his sheep in lambskins of animals, until one day he realized that the milk had curdled and had taken a solid form. The cheese that was prepared by Polyphemus is considered to be the ancestor of feta.

Yet, a good rule of thumb is that for every 1 pound of pasta, you'll need to fill a large pot with roughly 5 to 6 quarts of water and add 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons of sea salt.

Add an Acidic Ingredient

It won't reduce the sodium level of your dish, but adding an acidic ingredient, such as lemon juice, vinegar, or even a tomato product, can neutralize the saltiness of a dish. Start with a dash or a squeeze, stir well to combine, and give it a taste before adding any more.

For amounts, let's go beyond Nonna's Mediterranean Sea analogy: Most experts recommend a heaping tablespoon of salt per gallon of water (or per pound of dry pasta). Give the water a taste once the salt has dissolved; it should taste briny, but not knock-you-over salty.

Unlike, say, fresh goat cheese or Parmesan mixed with a splash of pasta water, feta doesn't really become creamy, ooey or gooey when subjected to high heat. It's too acidic and watery to melt, and while it does soften, it remains crumbly and grainy—even when stirred into tomato sauce.

Feta cheese has a high moisture content and also a high acid content. This makes it not good for melting or flowing. Melted Feta is very chewy and not gooey at all (Which is what we like in melted cheese).

Cooking: Feta melts well, turning soft, not gooey, and maintains its flavor when heated. One way to serve Feta which will blow your mind is to mix it with fresh melon of any kind. It's a life-changer. Check out this recipe, where we pair Feta, melon, and grilled Grouper (yes – FISH!) with Feta.

What is the history of baked pasta? ›

Baked pasta can ideally be divided in two big categories: the version with béchamel was born in the Renaissance courts of the Center and North, as a poorer variant of meat pies, from which probably derive very famous dishes such as baked lasagna and Emilian cannelloni; the so-called pasta 'nfurnata or pasta 'ncasciata ...

Feta cheese has been a part of Greece for nearly as long as humanity itself. It derives from the very first cheese made around 8,000 years ago, which was made soon after people began domesticating animals. Historians believe that milk began to ferment while being transported in the stomach of a goat or sheep.

A History of Baked Goodness

A pasta meal was an opportunity for a chef to show off his creativity and resourcefulness. Eventually baked pasta, or pasta al forno, was adopted all over Italy. Today, baked pasta is a staple dish of Southern Italy, where it's usually made on Sundays, holidays and special occasions.

Early Spanish settlers were among the first to bring pasta to America. Believe it or not, it was Thomas Jefferson that helped give pasta an initial push into popularity. During an extended stay in Paris from 1784-1789, Jefferson ate what he called macaroni… back then, the word could have referred to any shape of pasta.