Vegan tofu feta:
1 (14 oz) block firm tofu
2 tablespoons warm water
1 teaspoon white miso optional, but recommended
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
2 tablespoons light olive oil or other neutral-flavored oil
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon oregano optional
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon white miso optional, but recommended
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
2 tablespoons light olive oil or other neutral-flavored oil
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon oregano optional
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Remaining ingredients
2 pints cherry tomatoes (4 cups)
3 cloves garlic peeled and sliced in quarters
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional - add more or less to taste)
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
1/4 cup fresh basil (or 2 tbsp vegan pesto)
1 (16 oz.) package pasta cooked and drained - any shape
Preheat your oven to 400° F
Drain and press your tofu to get all of the excess liquid out of it, then crumble it up into a food processor. (If you don't have one, you can mash it in a large bowl.)
Mix 1 tsp miso paste with 2 tbsp water and add it to the food processor along with 1 tbsp nutritional yeast, 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar, 1 tsp lemon juice, 1 1/4 tsp salt, 1 tsp dry oregano, and 1/2 tsp garlic powder to the food processor and blend until smooth.
Add it to the center of a large baking dish. (I put my feta back into the open tofu container and packed it down to shape it into a rectangle before flipping it over in the center of the dish.)
Add 2 (1 pint) containers of washed cherry tomatoes and sliced garlic cloves to the dish surrounding the feta.
Drizzle with 1/2 cup of olive oil and sprinkle with red pepper flakes, fresh ground pepper, and some additional Italian spices or more oregano if desired.
Bake at 400° (204°C) for 30-35 minutes until the tomatoes look slightly wrinkly and are bubbling in their juices.
While the tomatoes and feta are in the oven, boil a 16 oz package of pasta (any shape that you want) according to package directions. Drain the pasta and toss it in with the cooked feta and tomatoes and some fresh basil as soon as they come out of the oven and serve hot. Add more salt and pepper to taste.
Recipe Notes
Start cooking the pasta about 15 minutes after you put the tomatoes and feta in the oven. This way they will be done about the same time and the pasta is hot and fresh when you mix.
Use a large baking dish with high edges. The tomatoes will be very juicy once baked and you will need lots of room to stir in the pasta.
Bake until you see that some of the tomatoes have burst and they are bubbling in their own juices.
You can reduce the oil a bit if you would like, but it helps coat the pasta in a creamy sauce, so I wouldn't omit it completely.
