Baked Feta Pasta with Shrimp

By Leite's Culinaria

Ingredients

1 pound (about 2 pints) cherry or grape tomatoes
6 cloves garlic (thinly sliced lengthwise)
Small bunch of fresh thyme
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
One (7-ounce) block Greek sheep feta cheese (NOT cow feta; it can become grainy when melted)
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Freshly ground black pepper
1 pound medium or large shrimp (shelled and cleaned)
12 ounces of your favorite short pasta (such as gemelli, rigatoni, or rotini)
Fresh chopped parsley (for serving)
Zest of 1 lemon (preferably organic)

Prep Time20mins
Cook Time40mins
Servings4

Instructions

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and crank the heat to 400°F (200°C).

Dump the tomatoes and garlic in a 9-by-13-inch (23-by 33-cm) baking dish. Strew the thyme over the tomatoes and drizzle the whole thing with 1/4 cup oil. Sprinkle with salt and stir to coat.

Nestle the feta cheese in the middle of the dish and drizzle with the remaining 1/4 cup oil. Sprinkle the entire dish with red pepper flakes and a wee bit of black pepper.

Bake until the tomatoes are lightly charred and have burst, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove the dish from the oven and nestle the shrimp among the tomatoes. Return the dish to the oven and continue baking until the shrimp is cooked through, 7 to 10 minutes.

While the shrimp is cooking, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta until just al denteabout a minute less than specified on the package. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water and then drain the pasta.

Remove the thyme sprigs and discard. Stir the feta-tomato-shrimp mixture until evenly mixed.

Pour the pasta into the dish and toss completely. If the dish looks a bit dry, add some of the reserved pasta water.

Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Top with the parsley and lemon zest and serve.