I am sure that many of you have witnessed the explosive popularity of TikTok and while many people (like me) do not have TikTok, the videos published are visible on a variety of platforms. The availability of the videos, is how I found the early post…about the “whipped coffee” and I also where I came across the viral feta pasta video. And while the recipe was simple and seemed…possibly tasty, I wasn’t into it. I do not like fresh cooked tomatoes, plain feta is sort of bland and plain pasta is plain pasta…so I made some changes! I hope you enjoy it 🙂
Thank you for your continued patience, as I navigate the new platform options! I am someone who knows the basics about these things and learning as I go, but I hope this post is easier for you all to read.
I appreciate you all! Chef Steph
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 block of tomato basil feta cheese
- 1- 32oz can of crushed tomatoes
- 1-2 TBSP of chopped garlic
- 1 TBSP of olive oil
- salt, pepper, onion powder
- 2 packages of refrigerated cheese tortellini (you can use dry, but I prefer the fresher option of refrigerated tortellini)
- 1 roll of plain breakfast sausage (if you are looking to make this dish vegetarian, just leave out the sausage)
- 3-4 cups of fresh spinach
SAUCE PREPARATION:
- Preheat oven to 350
- Place block of feta in center of baking dish
- Poor crushed tomatoes around the cheese
- Add 1-2 TBSP of chopped garlic, on top of the tomatoes. (use more or less, depending on your taste preferences)
- Drizzle 1 TBSP of olive oil over cheese and tomatoes
- sprinkle with crushed black pepper and onion powder. (I also suggest adding 1tsp of crushed red pepper flakes, but it is not required)
- Bake for 35 min, at 350 degrees, then turn off the oven and leave the sauce in the oven, while you prepare the remaining items.
![](https://iamchefsteph.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/img_09611.jpg?w=1024)
PASTA & MEAT PREPARATION:
- Brown the sausage. Break it up as it cooks.
- While the sausage is cooking, boil the water for your pasta. Once the water is boiling, follow the cooking instructions on the package. *keep an eye on the cook time, bc you don’t want mushy pasta
- Once the sausage is fully cooked, drain it. (I leave the sausage in the pan and soak up the grease with paper towels)
- With the heat on medium-low, add the spinach, one handful at a time. It will take about 5min for you to get all of the spinach incorporated and wilted. Don’t crank up the heat, bc burned spinach is NOT good.
- Remove the feta and sauce, from the oven. Gently break up the feta block and stir to combine it with the tomato sauce. TASTE it and add a pinch of salt IF needed
- Assemble the dish and enjoy!!!!!