This combination of sun-dried tomatoes, chèvre, pine nuts and baby greens, mixed with pasta is something I created long ago and it is still my favorite. This dish is quick, easy, healthy and full of taste popping ingredients that you are sure to love!
I should just call this Pasta alla Jenn, because for the past 20 odd years I have been making a version of this dish using these key ingredients:
- Baby Greens (usually arugula or spinach)
- Goat Cheese
- Sun-dried Tomatoes
- Pine Nuts
This is the first combination or “signature dish” that I can truly remember making in my repertoire that was propriety, as in something I made up all my own, to tingle my own personal taste buds and in a way that made me feel like I have gone to my happy food place!
When I was younger, I remember making this pasta for dinner for my mom, many many times, but usually with tortellini or some other stuffed pasta. Since becoming gluten free 5 years ago, my stuffed pasta choices are definitely limited and so these days I use anything from gnocchi to rice pasta and recently this red lentil pasta from Uddo’s. There are no additives or preservatives and it tastes wonderful. It has been so long I don’t remember what “real pasta” tastes like, so I won’t tell you the classic line “You can’t tell the difference!!!!”, but it really is good, especially with this sauce.
We have been super busy creating new gardens and tending to the ones already planted (we are going ALL OUT this year) and if you follow me on Facebook, you know I haven’t had much time for cooking, instead focusing my attention on these outdoor endeavors. So this is a perfect quick and nutritious dish to restore those depleted resources, in fact we ate it for dinner last night.
Normally my ratio of pasta to greens is that I go heavier on the greens, but you do what you like. I enjoy pasta, but I always love the other ingredients more. Sun-dried tomatoes pack a delicious punch, especially paired with the silky goat cheese, you are going to love it.
UP THE YUM: Use some of the oil the tomatoes are packed in to drizzle over your pasta right before serving to infuse the dish with more of that deliciously sweet tomato taste!
- 2 cups Uddo's Kitchen Red Lentil Penne Pasta
- 1 TBS olive oil
- 2 cups baby arugula or spinach
- ½ cup sundried tomatoes in oil (reserve 1 TBS. of oil for drizzling on top)
- ¼ cup goat cheese/chevre
- Sprinkle of pine nuts (optional)
- Truffle salt, to taste
- Black pepper, to taste
- Hot smoky paprika, to taste (1/2 tsp. is a good place to start)
- Bring salted water to a boil.
- Cook pasta according to package.
- Drain pasta and return to pot.
- Add olive oil and toss.
- Add the greens and cook over low heat until wilted.
- Remove pot from heat and add other ingredients, stir to combine.
- Serve immediately. Serves 2, generously.
Infuse Your Life with (more) YUM. YUM is the stuff that feeds not just our bodies but also our spirits. Offering simple recipes and tips, life hacks and tools and little pleasures to infuse life with more of the Good Stuff, the YUM.
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