Butter Bean and Feta Bake: The Viral Baked Feta Trend, Reinvented

Remember the baked feta pasta that took over the internet? The format is back this week with a twist: swap the pasta for a tin of butter beans and you get a one-dish bake that lands somewhere between a stew, a dip and the best beans on toast you have ever had.

The method is the same beautiful shortcut. A block of feta sits in the middle of a baking dish, surrounded by cherry tomatoes and beans, and the oven does the rest — the tomatoes slump, the feta softens into a sauce, and a handful of spinach stirred through at the end wilts into the heat.

Ingredients

• 1 block of feta (about 200 g)
• 250 g cherry tomatoes
• 1 can (400 g) butter beans, drained
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled
• 2 tbsp olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 2 tsp dried Italian herbs
• 150 g frozen spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry
• A splash of milk, if needed, to loosen the sauce
• Thick slices of sourdough, toasted, to serve
• Optional: torn mint leaves and a pinch of chilli flakes

Method

1. Heat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Place the feta in the center of a baking dish and surround it with the tomatoes and butter beans. Tuck a garlic clove into each corner.
2. Drizzle everything with olive oil, season with salt, pepper and the dried herbs, and toss the beans and tomatoes so they are well coated.
3. Bake for about 20 minutes, until the tomatoes burst and the feta is soft and golden at the edges.
4. Stir in the spinach, mashing the feta into the juices to make a creamy sauce. Add a splash of milk if it needs loosening.
5. Spoon over toasted sourdough and finish with mint, chilli flakes and another drizzle of olive oil.

It is vegetarian, weeknight-fast and endlessly adaptable — swap in chickpeas, add a pinch of smoked paprika, or serve it over grains instead of toast.

Source: BBC Good Food