Is honeycomb pasta, the newest
food sensation to take over TikTok, the next baked feta pasta? Or has it been here the whole time?
The dish is basically tubes of rigatoni pasta stood on end and packed into a springform pan, then stuffed with string cheese and
topped with (optional) ground meat and sauce and baked. Anna Rothfuss debuted
it on her TikTok channel BananaLovesYouToo, and it suddenly became the “it dish” to recreate.
On TikTok, there are dozens of videos on how to make the dish,
shoving the beloved baked feta pasta out of the top spot. But then there are people
with déjà vu saying, “Haven’t we seen this before?”
You might have seen some version of this dish around. Jamie
Oliver published a version in a magazine a decade ago, called Christmas Honeycomb
Canelloni (a similar, albeit larger, tube of pasta).
Others say it's been around even longer than that, as it's
reminiscent of the Greek casserole pastitio, which is made with ground meat, béchamel sauce and tube-shaped pasta.
At the end of the day, it’s pasta, sauce and cheese -- it's all just lasagna, right?
Rothfuss, who is known more for her internet pranks than her culinary delights, really goes hard on the cheese in her version, using an entire
package of shredded mozzarella on top, in addition to the sticks of mozzarella string cheese stuffed into the pasta. This is not a great recipe for your next vegan potluck. Or if your family is lactose intolerant.
Luckily, because of its popularity on social media, there are several
versions of the recipe to make. There’s the basic:
A lovely ricotta meatball:
And a simple alfredo:
And those are just a start! The best part of TikTok recipes is that you can run
with them and make them your own. Just stay away from the strawberries this time. And go a little easy on that cheese.