A tasteful TikTok trend

A+tasteful+TikTok+trend

Emily Motta, Staff Writer

Time and time again, we innovate and experiment with new ideas with food, clothes, and much more that fades in and out of popularity. In essence, trends keep popular culture running. 

 

Every generation creates multiple trends in their lifetime. The ’70s had high-waisted jeans, tie-dye, and feathered hair whereas the ‘80s had leg warmers, mullets, and neon. Sometimes, trends from a previous generation become a trend in the present, like overalls from the early 2000s, but they are altered to fit today’s style. Nonetheless, trends continue to prevail throughout the years, rising and falling in and out of the favor of the public. 

 

Today, our trends consist of reviving our interest in vinyl records, TV show-inspired shoe designs, whipped coffee, and the new TikTok baked feta pasta. A simple recipe with not too many ingredients makes this pasta easy, cheap, and delicious.

To make this you need tomatoes, garlic, salt, pepper, feta cheese, and pasta with an optional addition of basil and or red pepper flakes. To begin, preheat your oven to 400 degrees and add two boxes of cherry or grape tomatoes into a baking dish. Next, crack salt and black pepper over the tomatoes and half a cup of olive oil, then mix until the tomatoes are covered. Then, place a block of feta cheese in the middle of the dish, and put the dish in the oven for thirty minutes. While it’s cooking, boil your pasta as the package recommends. 

 

After thirty minutes in the oven, increase the heat to 450 degrees for five to ten minutes until the feta is browned and the tomatoes are blistered. Then remove from the oven. Once removed, add two cloves of finely chopped garlic (or minced garlic) to the dish and the optional basil and red pepper flakes. Finally, stir the cooked ingredients together, and then add the pasta to the sauce. You may blend the sauce if you do not prefer eating whole tomatoes. 

After observing this trend all over social media, I took it upon myself to give it a try. I followed the instructions above and decided to rate the finished product on three different criteria: appearance, taste, and overall enjoyment. I do not enjoy eating whole tomatoes, so I decided to blend the sauce. I rated the appearance of the dish as an 8/10 because it was not unique or restaurant quality, but it still looked appetizing. However, the appearance of the not blended dish I would rate a 10/10 because it looks fresh and light, which is very appealing.

The taste of the dish received an 8/10 as well. The cheese complimented the tomatoes very well and the flavor combination was light; however, points were deducted because it was a bit too tangy and not very flavorful. Finally, the overall rating of this dish was a 9/10. I would make this dish again, and my entire family found it pleasant. I would suggest trying it as is and then adjusting some spices as preferred, such as more pepper flakes and Italian seasoning to make it more flavorful!