Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Asparagus and goat cheese pasta

We've been eating a lot of asparagus around here.

I bought a couple of bunches of thin asparagus stalks at the produce market this week. I wanted to make an asparagus pasta, so I looked through a few cookbooks for inspiration. I decided to go with a recipe from the Everyday Food cookbook. The recipe only has six ingredients, it doesn't get much easier than that.

Hot fettuccine is tossed with a combination of goat cheese, grainy mustard and pasta water to make a rich and creamy sauce. Asparagus, fresh dill and toasted pine nuts are added to the mix. The whole thing is seasoned with salt and pepper, then it's ready to serve. Like I said, it's as simple as can be, but also quite delicious.

The only change I made to the recipe was that I used whole wheat pasta. I'm not really a goat cheese person - I like it in certain applications, but sometimes I find it a little overpowering. In this case, the goat cheese was quite mild and was nicely complemented by the mustard and dill.


80 comments:

The Purple Carrot said...

Sounds like a wonderful combination of flavors!!

Heather said...

wow! that sounds amazing and really easy! i'm not a dill person, but maybe i could add a little lemon zest? this is definitely going on the list of "to make" recipes!

LK- Healthy Delicious said...

that asparagus looks so perfect- nice and thin! This looks like a great preparation... I like to keep things simple.

Jennifer said...

Holy Cow that looks amazing, I cant wait to make it!

Unknown said...

I think I saw Martha make this on a recent episode of her show and I thought "wow, that looks really good - I need to try it"! Thanks for the reminder :) Yours looks awesome!

Olga said...

love pasta and pine nuts and dill and asparagus :) Craps, it's 10 pm here and now I'm hungry!

Btw, your Passover meals looks awesome. I just finally made matzo ball soup tonight. Will post in the next few days.

Christina Kim said...

Isn't it fantastic how a little pasta water, and just a handful of other ingredients, can make a deliciously rich sauce? The goat cheese melted with the pasta looks so tasty!

Heather S-G said...

Delicious! I love asparagus and pasta together...great combo!

Yasmeen said...

Asparagus sure are best eat of the season,the wholesome pasta looks delicious:)

Pearl said...

oh that photo looks incredible! the pine nuts must add such a nice complex flavor!

Claudia said...

Oh! I make something similar - must try this version!

La Bella Cooks said...

I love this time of year when the asparagus in California is at its peak. This looks delicious. Not much better than a bowl of pasta.

Wandering Coyote said...

Looks amazing! We are just starting to get fresh asparagus in our stores now and I'm totally stoked!

Sean said...

I happen to have both goat cheese and asparagus that needs to be used in the fridge right now!! Thanks for the inspiration!

Dewi said...

Sounds really good Sara. I'm pretty sure it delicious too.
Cheers,
elra

Cathy said...

You had me at goat cheese :) Looks great!

lubnakarim06 said...

Oh Wow.....looks yum.

LaDue & Crew said...

Oh I love all the flavors! This looks so good. I like your choice of pasta, too!

Foodie with Little Thyme! said...

I like this flavor combination. I would not think to use the mustard but It sounds great.

Maris said...

I seriously can't declare my love for goat cheese enough!

http://angiesrecipes.blogspot.com said...

haha! Great mind think alike! I still prefer green to white asparagus.

Selba said...

I want to try it coz' it really looks so good!

Kana said...

I really like goat cheese and this recipe is a keeper.

Alex said...

I'm still waiting for asparagus to appear here... Seeing this has made me impatient!!

Donna-FFW said...

Pinenuts, pasta, dill asparagus, I am in love, perfect choice Sara.

FH said...

YUM!! Love Asps, so fresh these day. Delicious looking Pasta dish, enjoy! :)

Netts Nook said...

I love Asparagus, wow what a combo. Looks amazing.

What a Dish! said...

This looks really yummy! I'm not a goat cheese person either, but I do like it in some circumstances, too. Beautiful photos.

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

Magnificent! That pasta dish is irresistibly appetizing!

Cheers,

Rosa

vanillasugarblog said...

I bet the dijon went so well with the goat cheese. I love the arrival of spring dishes all over food bloggerland.

Erica said...

I'm so excited that asparagus is in season! I plan to pick up a few bunches this weekend! This looks like a GREAT combo!

The Short (dis)Order Cook said...

That looks delicious. The season is here, so definitely take advantage of the good asparagus!

I can be a little lukewarm on goat cheese myself, but when used in the right recipes, it can be delicious.

Sarah said...

I will be making this! It sounds easy and delicious.

lisaiscooking said...

Delicious! I need to use a lot of dill from garden before it withers in the heat, and this sounds perfect.

stephchows said...

What a fantastic combination! Totally giving this a try for sure!

Jersey Girl Cooks said...

This looks fabulous! We have been eating asparagus a lot too. It is that time of year!

Leslie M. said...

Oh Sara, I adore Asparagus!! I could eat it every day! And you wanna hear something funny? My Hubby will only eat Canned asparagus... ewwww
Leslie
LeslieVeg@msn.com
http://leslielovesveggies.blogspot.com/

Katherine Roberts Aucoin said...

Hw wonderful. I've notice asparagus had really come down in price the past couple of weeks. I'm going to buy a couple of bunches and try this. Yum, goat cheese and asparagus, I'm over the moon.

Lyndas recipe box said...

This looks so delicious! I like that it's so easy and that you used whole wheat pasta. Yum!

Judy said...

I love asparagus, and this recipe looks wonderful.

Cassie said...

That looks AMAZING. Goat cheese and pasta are two of my great loves, so I'm definitely bookmarking this one!

Anonymous said...

wow, that is a BEAUTIFUL picture. it looks very rustic and wild. I think you can never have too many asparagus! who cares about the "asparagus pee!"

Aggie said...

That looks and sounds delicious!!!

Karin W. said...

Did you use whole-wheat pasta?
I like the taste of whole wheat pasta and use it often.

The Food Hunter said...

It looks delicious and so easy. The perfect week night meal for sure.

Anonymous said...

Yay for pine nuts! They do a good job in any creamy pasta.

Colleen said...

Great mix of flavors - I love all those ingredients together!

Diana said...

YUM! I know what I'm making for my next pasta dinner... this is great! Can't wait to try it! :)

Sam Hoffer / My Carolina Kitchen said...

Beautiful pasta and asparagus. We're trying to learn to eat more whole wheat pasta and this is a wonderful recipe to get us on our way. I'm crazy for goat cheese so that makes it all the better.
Sam

Sara said...

Heather - You could use other herbs, parsley or chives would be nice. Lemon zest would be great too!

Leslie - I don't think I've ever had canned asparagus.

Karin - It is whole wheat pasta. I use whole grain products whenever possible.

Maria said...

Love this recipe!

noble pig said...

Your plating is beautiful! I am a goat cheese lover so just wow!

Passionate Eater said...

I actually love goat cheese, but can see how it can be overwhelming. Also, asparagus has been in season and I have been using it a lot too. I will have to use it again for this pasta!

phanitha said...

Thats a great combination...looks yummy...

Sara said...

This looks absolutely delicious.

Reeni said...

What a delicious combination of ingredients. So many textures and flavors.

Kerstin said...

What a lovely dish, it looks super flavorful, but simple enough to throw together easily on a weeknight!

Soma said...

Of all the few cheeses that I like, goat is one of them:-) & I love asparagus.. you sold this to me already!

Shari said...

I love asparagus. Sounds like spring has sprung at your home.

Dragon said...

I can almost taste it just by looking at the photo. Mmmmmm.

unconfidentialcook said...

That looks fabulous--I love that you used the asparagus uncut and chose fettucine....The longer the better!

Varsha Vipins said...

Pasta looks delish..I love Goat cheese..:)

grace said...

only six ingredients, and six fantastic ones at that! this is how i want my asparagus--doused in a rich, cheesy sauce. :)

Sara said...

I'll sign up for any dish that has goat cheese in it. This looks like a wonderful weeknight meal.

Anonymous said...

Oh, wonderful pasta with goat cheese and asparagus and pine nuts! Excellent flavors!

The Blonde Duck said...

Totally craving pasta right now...

Marta said...

Oh wow! Welcome spring! This looks so yummy, a must-try for sure-o! I just love goat's cheese, so tangy, so creamy, so different from anything else... cravings take over me!

Deb in Hawaii said...

I love asparagus and goat cheese and this looks delicious!

La Cuisine d'Helene said...

Delicious, you surely know what to do with asparagus.

Bharti said...

That picture is so lovely. And I love easy sauces like this.

Amanda said...

Stunning, as always.

What kind of goat cheese is it that you find overpowering? Chevre? You can actually mix it with cream cheese or mascarpone to tone it down, or replace it entirely with mascarpone--which would be delicious on any pasta.

Allison said...

I agree, I am all about the asparagus these days. I recently made a similar dish - asparagus, roasted garlic, homemade ricotta cheese and toasted pine nuts over whole wheat fettucini. If you're not into the power of goat cheese ricotta is a great substitute. Thanks for the recipe!

Amanda said...

Mmm... ricotta in pasta... delish!

Sara said...

Amanda - Sometimes certain goat cheeses can be a little too pungent for my liking. I haven't experimented with it much though, so I couldn't tell you exactly which ones. I usually just buy the Trader Joe's brand. I love mascarpone on pasta, great idea to cut the goat cheese with it!

Jan said...

Mmmmmmm! Looks and sounds delish.

Angela Mears said...

Sophisticated! The dish looks beautiful, too.

Elyse said...

Can I admit to you that sometimes I eat grainy mustard right from the jar? I love it. So, of course, I'm going to love this pasta dish. And goat cheese and asparagus are just fabulous!

leslie said...

grainy mustard and pasta
interesting
gonna have to try

one of my favorite vendors at the farmers market
are holding back a bunch of asparagus for me

Elizabeth said...

This was really good. Thank you for posting about it!

-Elizabeth

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