Preheat Your Oven: Start by preheating your oven to 200°C (180°C fan). Choose an ovenproof dish that’s large enough to hold the tomatoes in a single layer without being too crowded.

Prepare the Baking Dish: Place the block of feta right in the centre of the dish. Scatter the cherry tomatoes and crushed garlic cloves around it.

Season and Oil: Drizzle the olive oil evenly over the feta and tomatoes. Sprinkle everything with the dried oregano and a generous amount of freshly cracked black pepper. Add just a tiny pinch of salt to the tomatoes (the feta is already very salty).

Roast the Feta and Tomatoes: Place the dish in the preheated oven and roast for 25-30 minutes. You're looking for the feta to be soft and golden on top and the tomatoes to have burst and become wonderfully jammy.

Cook the Pasta: While the feta is roasting, bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Add your pasta and cook according to the package directions until it's al dente. This is a crucial step, as detailed by BBC Good Food, to ensure it doesn't become mushy in the final dish.

Reserve the Pasta Water: Just before you drain the pasta, carefully scoop out about 250ml (a good mugful) of the starchy cooking water and set it aside. Then, drain the pasta.

Create the Sauce: Carefully remove the hot dish from the oven. Using the back of a fork or a spoon, mash the softened feta and burst tomatoes together. The roasted garlic cloves should be soft enough to mash right into the sauce as well. Stir everything together until it forms a rustic, creamy paste.

Combine Everything: Add the drained pasta directly into the baking dish with the feta and tomato sauce. Pour in about 120ml of the reserved pasta water to start.

Stir to Emulsify: Stir everything together vigorously. The pasta water will help the sauce come together, making it glossy and creamy. I find that a good minute of stirring really helps it emulsify. If the sauce seems a bit thick, add another splash of pasta water until you reach your desired consistency.

Serve Immediately: Stir through the torn fresh basil leaves and the optional chilli flakes. Serve the creamy feta pasta straight away, perhaps with an extra drizzle of olive oil on top.