My saucy take on the French classic, Salade de Chèvre Chaud, with toasted walnuts, rosemary and fresh parsley to create a creamy goat cheese pasta sauce. Serve with fresh tagliatelle, spaghetti or fusilli - and add some chopped sun-dried tomatoes or fried bacon bits to go the full monty.
1tablespoonfresh rosemary (or thyme)finely chopped (or herbes de Provence)
115 g (4oz/½ cup)half fat cream(15% fat)
100g (3.5oz)lardons/bacon bitsOPTIONAL
250g (9oz)fresh pasta(recipe link below)
handfulfresh spinach leavesoptional
Instructions
Toast the walnuts under the grill for a couple of minutes (keep an eye on them, as you don't want them to burn) or dry-fry in a non-stick frying pan. Set aside.
Gently fry the chopped garlic in the olive oil for a minute but don't brown (it will otherwise turn bitter). Add the fresh herbs then chopped goat cheese and leave it to melt then add the cream, plus salt and ground pepper to taste.
Meanwhile, prepare the pasta according to packet instructions. I prefer using fresh pasta which only takes a couple of minutes but if you use dried pasta, prepare the pasta more in advance or take the sauce off the heat so as not to overcook.
Drain the pasta and toss into the pan with the sauce, sprinkling over the toasted walnuts.
Notes
Good matching wines: Sauvignon Blanc or fruitier Chenin Blanc, ideally from the Loire (the goat cheese is from the same region). The result is a creamy, almost honey-like taste that marries to well together.For my fresh pasta recipe, see Alsatian egg noodles.Measures: Please note that all my recipes are best made using digital kitchen scales in precise metric grams. Both ounces (and cups) are given as an approximate guide.
Keyword creamy goat cheese pasta, goat cheese pasta sauce, goats cheese pasta recipes, melted goat cheese