Baked Hummus Pasta

Hi guys,

I think this may be my new favourite pasta recipe as of late. It’s a spin on the ever so popular Tik Tok feta and tomato pasta but completely without dairy and honestly, you can barely tell the difference because the end result is just as creamy and delicious.

INGREDIENTS

Cooked pasta of your choice
1 cup of hummus – your choice (usually opting for something neutral tasting)
3 cloves of garlic, smashed rough
1 pint of cherry tomatoes
1 tsp of dried oregano
Pinch of red chilli flakes
1/4 red onion thinly sliced
1/4 cup of sundried tomatoes (the kind packed in oil), roughly chopped
Zest of 1 lemon
Fresh basil
2-3 big handfuls of fresh spinach
1 cup of pasta water – essential do not forget!!
optional protein – I have been using sauteed shrimp seasoned with paprika and chilli powder
optional parmesan on top ….if you’re like me and can’t resist parm on pasta at all times
S+P to taste
Olive oil, only a few tablespoons

Preheat your oven to 400ºF. In an oven-safe non-stick pan (8×8 usually works), place the tomatoes and smashed garlic and season with salt/ pepper. Roll them around until coated and then make a space in the middle and place your hummus in a well. Drizzle with a little more olive oil, dried oregano, and chilli flakes and then pop that in the oven for 30 minutes. When finished, mix everything together and put off to the side.

At the same time, start the boiling water for your pasta and cook according to box instructions.

Next, in a small pan, sautee your red onions briefly until softened and slightly translucent. Remove and set aside, and then use the same pan to cook your protein if using any. Also set this aside and have it ready in an assembly line of what you will be adding to the pasta.

Next, I like to prepare the ingredients that will be thrown into the pasta “untouched” — such as the lemon zest, chopped basil and sundried tomatoes — and also set that aside. These ingredients don’t necessarily need to be cooked, and by leaving them fresh, I find that their flavour is more distinguished in the final state.

When the pasta is cooked al dente, remember to REMOVE A CUP OF STARCHY WATER BEFORE DRAINING. Liquid gold that stuff is!! Once pasta is drained, add it back to the pot and throw in your protein, red onion, and the hummus and tomato mixture. Add about 1/4 cup of the pasta water and return the pot back to the heat on low low low. Start to slowly incorporate the hummus to coat the pasta.

The goal here is to keep everything heated and silky, which can only be achieved by utilizing that starchy pasta water. Once everything is evenly coated, add the sundried tomatoes, fresh basil, lemon zest and another few tablespoons of pasta water. You should start to smell the fragrance of that citrus instantly — it is probably one of my favourite undertone notes of this pasta dish that prevents everything from feeling heavy since you know, it is pasta after all.

Remove the pot from the heat and throw in your mass amount of spinach. The residual heat will lightly wilt the spinach instead of instantly wilting it by adding while still on the stove. I like to add a few more twirls of cracked black pepper at this point and again, only a tablespoon of pasta water if you find that the consistency of the pasta is looking dry and not silky. Serve hot with some grated parmesan on top.