Goat Cheese and Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta

Now that the holidays are over, it's time
to look in the frig and cabinets and try to
use all the leftover items before they go bad.


I have so many different odds and ends that
need to be used that I need to be a little
more creative with dinners this week.


This recipe is great because it allowed me
to use some of the sun-dried tomatoes and
the goat cheese that I had.




The recipe is from Everyday Food
Goat Cheese and Sundried Tomato Pasta


Ingredients:
Coarse salt and ground pepper
12 ounces rigatoni, penne, or other short tubular pasta
1 cup sun-dried tomatoes (not oil-packed), thinly sliced
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
5 ounces soft goat cheese, crumbled, plus more for topping (optional)
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
Directions
In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta 3 minutes less than package instructions. Add sun-dried tomatoes, and cook 3 minutes. Remove 2 cups pasta water; reserve. Drain and return pasta mixture to pot.
Meanwhile, heat a small skillet over medium heat. Add almonds and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned and fragrant, 2 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl; reserve. Return skillet to medium heat; add oil, garlic, and red-pepper flakes. Cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, 20 to 30 seconds. Remove from heat.
To pasta mixture in pot, add garlic mixture, reserved pasta water, cheese, and parsley. Season with salt and pepper; stir to combine. Let stand until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Divide pasta among four shallow dishes; sprinkle with almonds and, if desired, additional cheese.




I really enjoyed this dish, mostly because I love goat cheese.