Pasta dishes are almost always a hit in our home for both lunches and family dinners. We are all big pasta lovers (in all it’s varieties) and it always features heavily on our weekly menu’s (much to our 4 year old’s delight). But, as a busy mama I think we can easily fall into a rut with family dinners, especially if they are things that everyone loves and are easy and cheap to make too (if it’s not broke, why fix it hey). But I not only love eating food, I also really love trying new recipes and making them too. I enjoy expanding the kids palettes and our own, and so am therefore always on the lookout for new flavours, recipes and twists to things we already love and enjoy – like pasta – to mix things up in the kitchen at dinner time.
Whilst on a search this weekend for some simple new ideas, I discovered this tasty little dish on Pinterest. In their recipe they used Spaghetti, but as we all love (like really love) Rigatoni Pasta, I decided to substitute it with that and it worked wonderfully. It was so easy to make for a quick weekday dinner and the flavours gave it a real fresh and gourmet vibe!
This dish tasted absolutely delicious, was enjoyed by just about everyone and, at only £3.22 in total to feed a family of 5 (64p/head), it is most definitely a winner in our book!
Roasted Tomato & Feta Pasta
All the ingredients I used for this were bought at Aldi, however they are not expensive ingredients anyway and so wherever you shop it will still be a budget friendly family meal. It requires olive oil and garlic which I didn’t add into the total cost as I always have these in the cupboard as staples anyway for cooking.
You will need…
1 bag of pasta (your choice) – I used (or rather splashed out on) the Aldi specially selected Rigtoni at 99p (steady on) but obviously you can buy pasta cheaper too.
1 Pack of Greek Feta Cheese
2 Packs of plum tomatoes
Olive oil
About 3 or 4 cloves of garlic
Directions:
Put the oven on (Gas mark 6 or around 200c).
In an oven proof dish place the washed tomatoes and cover in olive oil. Add the crushed garlic and give them a quick stir to cover in the garlic and oil.
Make a space in the centre of the dish and place the whole piece of feta.
Bake it all in the over for about 25 – 35 mins.
Meanwhile cook the pasta, drain and set aside.
Remove the dish from the oven and mix – feta should be creamy and tomatoes should squish (I used the back of the wooden spoon to squish them all up into the sauce).
Mix it all to create a creamy sauce and then stir in the pasta until it is completely covered.
Serve with fresh basil (we didn’t and it was still delish) or with chilli flakes if you like a kick (which I did and do).
This was such a yummy family meal, easy to make with beautiful flavours. It is so cheap, relatively healthy and perfect for any night of the week. I think next time I make it I am going to add in some mushrooms and spinach too for and excellent boost of flavour and nutrients! If you aren’t as veggie in the things you eat, then I am sure some grilled chicken tossed in it would also be really nice too (but would obviously also increase the cost)! ENJOY!