Baked Broccoli and Feta Dip

I’ve been curious about the baked feta pasta recipe that was trending on TikTok a few months ago, but tomatoes aren’t in season right now, so I opted for broccoli instead and added my own flair. I’ve made a broccoli pasta sauce before and really loved it - I could only imagine how much the addition of feta would elevate the flavour. I’m happy to report that broccoli and feta are definitely a match made in heaven.

You can serve this as a dip, or add some cream and make it into a pasta sauce.

Ingredients:

For a Dip 

Olive oil,
sea salt + pepper
1 large head of broccoli, cut into florets
1 shallot, sliced
5 garlic cloves, crushed
½ lemon, zest and juice
1 brick of feta, about 8 oz (not crumbled)
¼ - ½ cup cream, depending on consistency preference

For pasta sauce 
3 cups uncooked pasta
½ cup reserved pasta water
½ cup cream

Recipe:

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. Cut the broccoli into small florets. Thinly slice the shallot. Crush the garlic cloves. Add all ingredients to a cast iron pan, or a casserole dish. 
3. Generously drizzle olive oil, and sprinkle with sea salt and pepper. Using your hands, toss until everything is fully coated.
4. Nestle the brick of feta in the middle of the pan / dish. 
5. Using a microplane, zest half a lemon. Squeeze the lemon juice over top of the ingredients. 
6. Put the pan in the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes. 
7. If you’d like to make the pasta sauce, cook your pasta as per package direction. Reserve ½ cup of pasta water before straining. 
8. Remove the baked broccoli and feta. Using the back of a wooden spoon, begin to mash the feta into the broccoli. Add the mixture to a blender, or food processor. Add the cream if you want just a dip, or the pasta water and cream if you want more of a sauce.
9. Blend together until smooth.
10. Serve with chips, or crudité as a dip. Mix with your cooked pasta as a sauce.