Mary Berg's Baked Feta Romesco-ish Pasta

Serves 4 to 5

Ingredients:

350g short pasta, such as rotini or fusilli
Salt
1 cup Roasted Red Pepper Romesco-ish, recipe follows
200g block feta
2 tablespoons olive oil
Pepper
¼ cup chopped parsley

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta to cook according to the package directions or until al dente. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking liquid before draining.
2. While the pasta cooks, set your oven rack to the centre position and heat your broiler to high.
3. Spread the Roasted Red Pepper Romesco into the bottom of an oven proof skillet or baking dish and place the block of feta in the centre. Drizzle the oil over the feta and season with pepper. Broil for 3 to 5 minutes or until the feta is golden on top and the sauce is bubbling.
4. Use a wooden spoon to break apart the feta slightly. Add in the pasta along with ½ cup of the reserved cooking liquid and stir until a creamy sauce forms, adding more pasta cooking liquid if needed.
5. Season to taste with pepper (you shouldn’t need extra salt as the feta is nice and salty already) and scatter with the parsley.

Red Pepper Romesco-ish 

Ingredients:

¼ cup roughly chopped almonds, toasted
1 ½ cups (approx. 340ml) jarred roasted red peppers, drained
2 tablespoons chopped sundried tomatoes
2 garlic cloves
1 small handful parsley, roughly chopped
1 lemon, zested and juiced
¼–½ teaspoon smoked paprika
3–5 tablespoons olive oil
Salt & pepper

Directions:

1. In a small pan, toast the almonds over medium heat until lightly browned and nutty smelling, about 1 minute.
   
2. In the bowl of a food processor or a high-speed blender, combine the almonds, roasted red peppers, sundried tomatoes, garlic, parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, and smoked paprika and pulse a few times to chop and mix. Add in 3 tablespoons of oil and blend into a smooth sauce, adding more oil if needed. Taste and season with salt and pepper and a bit more lemon juice, if needed.
   
3. Store in the fridge for up to 1 week.