Smoked Pancetta and Baked Feta Spaghetti
This tangy pasta dish features a whole block of roasted feta tossed through spaghetti with pancetta, garlic, onions and sweet roasted cherry tomatoes.
Introduction
One of the simplest yet tastiest recipes in the book. A whole slab of feta baked with sweet cherry tomatoes and loads of garlic gives you a heavenly sauce, and the smoked pancetta just makes it.
Ingredients
| 1 | large onion |
| 150g | smoked pancetta |
| 5 cloves of | garlic |
| 1 handful of | basil |
| 200g | feta cheese |
| 360g | cherry tomatoes |
| olive oil | |
| salt and pepper | |
| 320g | spaghetti |
| 1 handful of | Parmesan cheese |
| 1 | lemon |
| 1 tsp | chilli flakes |
Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C fan.
Chop the onion and pancetta, put them into a frying pan and cook for 10 minutes, until the onions are caramelized from the fat of the pancetta.
Meanwhile, grate the garlic and chop 8 of the basil leaves. Put the feta in the centre of an ovenproof dish and arrange the tomatoes all around it. Drizzle with olive oil, top with the chopped garlic and basil, season with salt and pepper and cook in the middle of the oven for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta. When you drain it, reserve a glass of the starchy water – this is important for the sauce.
When everything is cooked, add the baked feta and tomatoes to the pancetta and onions. Chop another 4 basil leaves and add to the pan, then add the pasta, stirring in the starchy pasta water to give you a creamy, silky sauce. Season with salt and pepper.
Top with Parmesan, a squeeze of lemon and a sprinkling of chilli flakes.
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