Sheet-Pan Baked Feta with Broccolini, Tomatoes, and Lemon

Ready for roasting!

This recipe caught my eye while scrolling thru the NYT Cooking app because, you know, first you eat with your eyes. And the picture at the top of the post was gorgeous.

Ready for eating!

We just happened to have all the ingredients in-house, with a couple of minor modifications to the original recipe. I swapped in broccoli for the broccolini (have never seen that here in Puerto Rico), and crumbled feta for the block feta (another no-show here). I don’t think those two swaps adversely affected the recipe, because it came out great. Besides looking definitely picture-worthy, the melange of flavors was fabulous. I served it over orzo, but you could easily use rice or farro. I would leave out the lemon slices as they were a little bitter after roasting. Otherwise, highly recommend this dish!

Sheet-Pan Baked Feta with Broccolini, Tomatoes, and Lemon (NYT Cooking)

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch broccolini, ends trimmed, thick stalks split lengthwise, or broccoli, stalks trimmed and cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved (about 2 cups)
• 1 small red onion, peeled, quartered and cut into 2-inch wedges
• 1 lemon, 1/2 cut into thin rounds and the remaining 1/2 left intact, for serving
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for serving
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon red-pepper flakes
• Kosher salt and black pepper
• 2 (6- to 8-ounce) blocks feta, cut into 1-inch slices
• Cooked orzo or farro, for serving
• ½ cup fresh basil or cilantro leaves and fine stems, roughly chopped (optional) 

Directions:

1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees with a rack set in the lower third. On a sheet pan, combine the broccolini, tomatoes, onion and lemon slices with the olive oil and toss. Add cumin and red-pepper flakes, season with salt and pepper, and toss again until evenly coated. Nestle the feta slices into the vegetables. (It’s OK if they break apart a little.)
2. Roast 15 to 20 minutes, stirring halfway through but leaving the feta in place, until the broccolini is charred at the tips, the stems are easily pierced with a fork and the tomato skins start to blister and break down.
3. Serve over orzo or farro. Drizzle with olive oil and serve with the remaining lemon half for squeezing. Top with fresh herbs, if using.