Tomato Feta Pasta & Greek Salad
Tomato season is in full swing, which means that Michael and the kids come in from the garden every night holding tomatoes in their shirt hems. It also means it’s the perfect time for Tomato Feta Pasta, which uses the tiny cherry tomatoes, and Greek Salad, which uses the big ones. This meal is quick, delicious, and screams bountiful summer garden. I’m already adding another giant container of feta to my Costco list.
Tomato Feta Pasta
Ingredients
- 1- quart cherry, grape, or plum tomatoes
- 6 cloves garlic
- 1 shallot, quartered, and sliced
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, omit if you don’t like spice
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 block (7-8 oz) feta cheese
- 12 oz piecey pasta, bowties, rigatoni, or something twirly
- salt and pepper
- optional for finishing: freshly grated Parmesan cheese, fresh basil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a large baking dish, toss together the tomatoes, garlic, shallot olive oil, red pepper flakes, if using, and oregano. Nestle the block of feta cheese in the center and place in the oven. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until tomatoes are bursting and bubbly.
- While the feta and tomatoes bake, bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Cook the pasta to al dente. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water and drain the pasta.
- Add the hot pasta to the dish of hot tomatoes and stir well to combine. Add some of the reserved pasta water as needed, just a couple of tablespoons at a time. The feta will melt into the tomato juices to create a creamy sauce that soaks into the pasta. Season with salt and pepper, and any desired optional garnishes, and eat right away while it’s hot.
Greek Salad
Ingredients
- 1 lb tomatoes, heirloom, slicing, Roma, plum, even small cherry tomatoes are fine as long as they are ripe!, cut into 1/2 inch chunks
- 1 cucumber, peeled, halved lengthwise, and cut into slices
- 1 small onion, sliced and rinsed with cold water
- 1 bell pepper, julienned
- 1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, halved
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 4 oz feta cheese, cut into squares
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Combine all the cut vegetables, olives, olive oil, vinegar, and dried herbs in a large bowl and toss to combine. I like to add the cheese last so that it doesn’t break apart too much. Gently toss and season to taste with salt and pepper. As this sits, the flavors will meld and juices will gather at the bottom of the bowl. My Greek brother-in-law likes to soak this up with good bread.
