Serves: 4 Prep Time: 15 minutes Bake Time: 35 minutes

This is our fall spin on the baked feta pasta everyone's been making for the last couple of years — the block-of-cheese-in-a-dish method is still the easiest weeknight trick in baking, we've just swapped in roasted fall vegetables to make it feel like the season. Add shredded rotisserie chicken or turkey if you want more protein; it holds up well either way.

Ingredients

• 1 block (8 oz) feta cheese

• 2 cups cherry tomatoes

• 2 cups cubed butternut squash

• 3 tbsp olive oil, divided

• 4 cloves garlic, smashed

• 1 tsp dried oregano

• ½ tsp red pepper flakes (optional)

• Salt and black pepper, to taste

• 12 oz short pasta (rigatoni or penne work well)

• Fresh basil, torn, for serving

• Optional: 2 cups shredded cooked chicken or turkey

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. In a baking dish, toss the cherry tomatoes and butternut squash with 2 tbsp olive oil, the smashed garlic, oregano, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper.

2. Nestle the block of feta into the center of the dish. Drizzle the remaining olive oil over the feta.
   
   
   

3. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the squash is tender and the tomatoes have burst.

4. While the vegetables bake, cook the pasta according to package directions in well-salted water. Reserve ½ cup of pasta water before draining.

5. Remove the dish from the oven. Use a Silicone Spatula  to mash the feta and vegetables together into a chunky sauce, adding a splash of the reserved pasta water to loosen it if needed.

6. Toss the sauce with the cooked pasta. Fold in the shredded chicken or turkey now, if using.

7. Top with torn basil and serve warm.

The Dealer's Note: The silicone spatula does the actual work here — mashing the feta and folding everything together without scraping your baking dish to pieces.