Creamy Pesto and Goat Cheese Pasta
Ingredients
8 oz dry pasta
2 oz goat cheese chevre
½ cup pesto
1 cup marinated artichokes chopped
½ cup sun dried tomatoes chopped
1-2 tablespoons parmigiano reggiano freshly grated
Directions
Cook the pasta in salted water per instructions on the package to al dente.
While the pasta is cooking, add crumbled goat cheese to a large mixing bowl. Next, add pesto into the bowl.
Drain and chop both the artichokes and the sun dried tomatoes. Set aside.
Before draining the pasta, reserve ½ cup of pasta water.
Once it has finished cooking, drain and add the hot pasta directly into the large mixing bowl with the goat cheese and pesto. Immediately toss to coat, melting the goat cheese. Add 1-2 tablespoons of the reserved pasta water and continue to toss. Add 1 tablespoon of pasta water until desired consistency.
Toss in the artichokes and sun dried tomatoes and mix until combined.
Divide into bowls and top with freshly grated parmigiano reggiano.
Notes
Be sure to reserve some pasta water to finish the sauce.
Already cooked protein or veggies can be added with the sun dried tomatoes and artichokes.
Why do you need to reserve pasta water? When you boil pasta, starch gets released into the water, resulting in a great way to make a thicker sauce. Pasta water is a natural emulsifier and when results in a creamy sauce when added to the goat cheese and pesto mixture. I always reserve at least ½ cup before the end of cooking and add some slowly to any sauce I’m making to make it creamier.
How do you make the creamy sauce? It’s really easy. You basically are just melting the cheese (with hot pasta), mixing in pesto and making it the right consistency with pasta water. No roux or bechamel needed. I tried to avoid those methods because they can be finicky and break when reheated. This is a very easy dish but results in an extremely flavorful finished pasta.
How do you know how much pasta water to add? Start with mixing the goat cheese and pesto together and 1-2 tablespoons of pasta water. Once it’s mixed, if it looks creamy enough to you, it’s finished. If you want it a little looser, add a little more (by the tablespoon) until it’s the right consistency. If you accidentally add too much, add in a little more cheese or more pesto until it tastes good and has your desired texture.