It may have been the birthplace for the ubiquitous Dalgona coffee, but I was under the impression that it was all downhill for TikTok's food trends from there.
I scoffed at the mini-pancake cereal trend because, really, why would anyone want to undertake such an overly complicated recipe for their morning meal? Even the one-pan egg sandwich and three-ingredient Oreo cake seemed to be more about convenience than taste or quality.
So, I was ready to switch off when I heard about the whole baked feta pasta trend. A gourmet pasta recipe that can be showcased within a 60-second TikTok video? Let's just say, I was intrigued.
While the origin of the pasta dish is still being disputed, it's believed to be by Finnish food blogger Jenni Hayrinen, who posted the recipe on her blog in 2019 and called it uunifetapasta, which translates to "oven feta pasta".
She even told Today that the recipe became so popular that stores in Finland were running out of feta cheese.
TikTok users soon caught on to the trend, awed by its convenience and picture-perfect appearance. The hashtag #FetaPasta has generated almost 576 million views on TikTok alone, with popular videos made by TikTok chef Jeremy Scheck, food blogger Ciara Attwell, and chef Yumna Jawad of Feel Good Foodie.
Even Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop has recreated the dish (with grain-free almond flour pasta, naturally).
The appeal is obvious: It requires a handful of ingredients, very little actual measuring or cooking skills and can easily be customised to taste. Numerous bloggers and chefs have done their own renditions, from low-carb versions (made with squash instead of pasta) and gourmet varieties with truffle oil.
But is it healthy? TikTok food trends are more about the visual appeal and with this recipe involving a hunk of cheese, I thought it seemed necessary to investigate.
In a cursory search, it checks out. Feta is a Greek cheese made from sheep or goat’s milk, and is lower in calories and fat than many other cheeses. It also contains high amounts of calcium and phosphorus, although it does have a high sodium content. The bottom line is, it’s fine when eaten in moderation.
Meanwhile, cherry tomatoes are packed with a load of vitamins and, according to studies, are even healthier when cooked, thanks to the lycopene.
Armed with this knowledge (and some wholewheat pasta), I decided to whip up the super-simple pasta using the many TikTok videos for guidance.
The good thing is that this dish really is as simple as it appears (see recipe below) and it's not likely to go wrong.
And it tastes every bit as good as I hoped it would.
The sauce is fresh, creamy, tangy and wholesome. It's a dish you could make at an hour's notice and wouldn't mind serving to guests. As my colleague recently put it: "It's the easiest white pasta sauce on Earth and I will be making it forever."
Here’s a recipe in full:
Ingredients
- 500g cherry tomatoes
- 200g block of feta cheese
- 4-5 cloves of garlic
- Olive oil, as needed
- 1 teaspoon red chilli flakes
- Salt and pepper to garnish
- 300g pasta of your choice (I used wholemeal penne)
- Sprigs of basil (to garnish)
- A handful of baby spinach (optional)
Instructions
- Line the cherry tomatoes in an ovenproof pan. Place the block of cheese in the centre. Toss peeled garlic cloves in (I chopped mine up, but that's optional).
- Douse generously with olive oil.
- Season with salt, pepper and chilli flakes. You can also add other seasonings such as dried basil and rosemary.
- Pop into the oven until the cheese is slightly browned (I placed at 210°C for 35 minutes).
- In the meantime, cook the pasta according to instructions. Drain, saving some of the pasta water.
- When the cheese is cooked, take out of the oven. Garnish with fresh basil and add a handful of baby spinach (optional). Carefully mash it up to create a beautiful, creamy pasta sauce.
- Mix the pasta in, along with a tablespoon of the pasta water. Stir well and enjoy.
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
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match info
Chelsea 2
Willian (13'), Ross Barkley (64')
Liverpool 0
Key recommendations
- Fewer criminals put behind bars and more to serve sentences in the community, with short sentences scrapped and many inmates released earlier.
- Greater use of curfews and exclusion zones to deliver tougher supervision than ever on criminals.
- Explore wider powers for judges to punish offenders by blocking them from attending football matches, banning them from driving or travelling abroad through an expansion of ‘ancillary orders’.
- More Intensive Supervision Courts to tackle the root causes of crime such as alcohol and drug abuse – forcing repeat offenders to take part in tough treatment programmes or face prison.
57%20Seconds
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Super Saturday results
4pm: Mahab Al Shimaal Group 3 | US$350,000 | (Dirt) | 1,200m
Winner: Drafted, Pat Dobbs (jockey), Doug Watson (trainer).
4.35pm: Al Bastakiya Listed | $300,000 | (D) | 1,900m
Winner: Divine Image, Brett Doyle, Charlie Appleby.
5.10pm: Nad Al Sheba Turf Group 3 | $350,000 | (Turf) | 1,200m
Winner: Blue Point, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
5.45pm: Burj Nahaar Group 3 | $350,000 | (D) | 1,600m
Winner: Muntazah, Jim Crowley, Doug Watson.
6.20pm: Dubai City of Gold Group 2 | $300,000 | (T) | 2,410m
Winner: Old Persian, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
6.55pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round 3 Group 1 | $600,000 | (D) | 2,000m
Winner: Capezzano, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer.
7.30pm: Jebel Hatta Group 1 | $400,000 | (T) | 1,800m
Winner: Dream Castle, Christophe Soumillon, Saeed bin Suroor.
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GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
The specs: 2018 Volkswagen Teramont
Price, base / as tested Dh137,000 / Dh189,950
Engine 3.6-litre V6
Gearbox Eight-speed automatic
Power 280hp @ 6,200rpm
Torque 360Nm @ 2,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 11.7L / 100km
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Spec%20sheet
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SPECS
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
Tori Amos
Native Invader
Decca
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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1.
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United States
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China
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3.
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UAE
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4.
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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6.
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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Results
United States beat UAE by three wickets
United States beat Scotland by 35 runs
UAE v Scotland – no result
United States beat UAE by 98 runs
Scotland beat United States by four wickets
Fixtures
Sunday, 10am, ICC Academy, Dubai - UAE v Scotland
Admission is free
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
In Search of Mary Shelley: The Girl Who Wrote Frankenstein
By Fiona Sampson
Profile
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
