August 4, 2021

Oven Baked Vegan Feta Pasta With Seasoned Beyond Meat

This pasta bake dish https://www.washingtonpost.com/food/2021/02/11/baked-feta-pasta-recipe-tiktok/ went viral during the quarantine days and like anyone else who tried it once, I ended up making it multiple times. This was my third time cooking it and I went all out. I used the pasta bake recipe from this link https://www.instagram.com/p/CKzTEOApsqF/ and I have a favorite Beyond Meat seasoning recipe that I adapted from a New York Times meatball recipe https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020740-meatless-meatballs-in-marinara-sauce and that seems to be the key to any ground Beyond Meat tasting absolutely delicious.

Oven Baked Vegan Feta Pasta With Seasoned Beyond Meat

Ingredients

Meatballs

⅓ cup minced onion
⅓ cup chopped parsley leaves and tender stems
6 garlic cloves ((grated or minced))
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon dried oregano
Pinch of red-pepper flakes ((optional))
1 pound plant-based vegan ground beef ((such as Beyond Meat))
Oil for cooking

Pasta

1 lb pasta ((if possible, I buy fancy pasta from Italy and in this case bought Bartolini paccheri rigati))
Olive oil for drizzle

Sauce

2 blocks/packages of Violife vegan feta cheese
6 garlic cloves ((grated or minced))
1-2 large packs or about 40 cherry or grape tomatoes
Olive oil for drizzle
Salt and pepper to taste
Oregano or Italian seasoning to taste
Grated Violife vegan parmesan to taste

Instructions

In a large bowl, combine ingredients for the meatballs: onion, parsley, garlic, soy sauce, salt, pepper, oregano, red-pepper flakes if using and mix well. Add plant-based beef, and blend with your hands until well mixed. If making well ahead of time, seal the bowl with plastic wrap and store in the fridge until ready to cook.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the feta blocks on top of each other in the middle of a large baking pan. Pour tomatoes and garlic evenly around the feta so they fill the rest of the pan. Drizzle olive oil, salt, pepper and herbs to taste evenly over the ingredients. Bake for 25-30 minutes.
About halfway through the feta baking, pour 2-3 tablespoons of cooking oil over a large nonstick pan and turn to medium heat. Add meat to the pan and cook, while constantly stirring, until golden brown.
Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the package. (If you are pressed for time or space and want to cook the pasta ahead of the rest of the dish you can do the following: When the pasta is finished cooking, drain it in a colander, pour a drizzle of olive oil over it and mix well. This will help the pasta not stick together. If storing for a few hours or overnight, let the pasta sit for 15 minutes, then place it in a large plastic zip lock bag, seal it so it’s air tight and keep it in the fridge. If refrigerated, you can reheat it later by re-boiling for a couple of minutes, or if it was simply set aside and has cooled, add it to the meat pan heat the pasta with the meat until warm.
Once the feta is done baking, remove pan from the oven and immediately pour in the meat and pasta. Mix well and top with scallions or basil for garnish and grated vegan parmesan to taste.