Asparagus, Goat Cheese and Lemon Pasta

Spring has finally sprung here in Vermont (well, sort of…) and last weekend I finally saw some asparagus at the farmer’s market. Thankfully, the farm I bought it from had managed to remain in production, while many local farms in Burlington and surrounding areas have had severe setbacks due to flooding. Unfortunately, we have another week of rain on our hands, so I imagine many farmers are going to experience further delays for most of their early season crops.

In any case, this dish just screams “spring” at you. The flavors are subtle and delicious and you can just feel that even more robust tastes are just around the corner. Tarragon is one of those highly underutilized and under-appreciated herbs that really shines alongside the goat cheese and lemon.  I adapted the recipe from Smitten Kitchen– adding some sauteed chicken breasts for protein and swapping in whole wheat pasta instead of the regular variety.

As a rule, I generally stick to the proportions of a recipe, even if it is supposed to serve 4 or 6 and I am not planning on having company. I find that leftovers make for easy and healthful lunches, which is key to not allowing the leftovers to go bad in your fridge. If you can convince your slightly finicky partner to eat them for dinner later in the week, more power to you. However, this is one dish where I think I will shrink the recipe in the future to the size that we will eat in that first sitting. The goat cheese makes a creamy, smooth sauce that just doesn’t translate in the subsequent re-heating of the dish.

Oh- by the way- did I mention that this takes less than 30 minutes to make? Perfect weeknight meal.

Asparagus, Goat Cheese and Lemon Pasta – adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Serves 6

2 boneless chicken breasts
1 pound whole wheat rotini (or other spiral shaped pasta)
1 pound slender asparagus spears, trimmed, cut into 1- to 1 1/2-inch pieces
1/4 cup olive oil, plus 1 TB
1 lemon’s worth of finely grated lemon peel and juice
2 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon plus more for garnish
1 5- to 5 1/2-ounce log soft fresh goat cheese (the pre-crumbled stuff will not melt as well)

While the water for past begins to boil, salt and pepper your chicken breasts and saute them in a well-heated frying pan with about 1 TB of olive oil. Depending on the thickness of the chicken, you will want to saute them for anywhere from 4 minutes to 8 minutes per side. Cook your pasta in a large pot of well-salted water until it is almost tender, or about three minutes shy of what the package suggests. Add asparagus and cook until firm-tender, another two to three minutes. Drain both pasta and asparagus together, reserving one cup of pasta water.

Meanwhile, combine olive oil, lemon peel, tarragon and cheese in a large bowl, breaking up the goat cheese as you put it in. Add hot pasta and asparagus to bowl, along with a couple slashes of the pasta water. Toss until smoothly combined, adding more pasta water if needed. Season generously with salt and pepper, and lemon juice. Add slices of chicken breast, toss and serve.

Pasta salad

Spring time is finally here! We already had plans to have a few friends over for dinner, so it seemed like the perfect time for the 2011 inaugural bbq. I love bbq’s, not just because of the simplicity of throwing some delicious meat, fish or veggies on the grill, but also because Brendan is the grill-master in our house- which frees me up to spend more time on creating yummy side dishes! For this first bbq of the season, I had a special request from the grill-master himself: pasta salad!

Not being a huge fan of the goopy, heavily mayonnaised  version you often see at large summertime gatherings, I set out to find a healthier but still tasty option for our party. Luckily, my trusty Moosewood Cookbook – Low Fat Favorites didn’t let me down. My recipe was adapted slightly from their take on this classic side dish. I used more pasta so it wouldn’t be too creamy and so I could eat the leftovers for lunch the next day. Moosewood also calls for asparagus in their version, but it is so out of season here in Vermont that I couldn’t bring myself to buy the unsightly looking shoots at the market. I think this would be great with any variety of veggies- use whatever suits your tastes!

Pasta Salad – adapted from the Moosewood Cookbook – Low Fat Favorites

1 lb pasta, rotini or elbows are great
3 scallions, chopped
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1 head of broccoli, chopped
1 TB chopped fresh dill

Sauce:
1/2 cup of low-fat cottage cheese
1/4 cup low-fat mayo
1 small clove garlic, minced*
1 TB olive oil
1 teaspoon water
salt and pepper

Cook pasta in boiling water. While pasta is cooking, chop veggies and toss into a large bowl. I cooked the broccoli in with the pasta for the last five minutes, until it was a nice bright green.

Once the pasta and broccoli are done, strain them and run under cold water. Then toss with the rest of the veggies. To make the sauce, add all the ingredients together in a blender and run until smooth. I used an immersion blender, which did the trick well. Feel free to add a little more water or oil if the mixture is too think to blend. Mix sauce in with pasta and veggies and refrigerate until you are ready to serve.

*note: the salad was really garlicky the first night. While it mellowed out for leftovers the following day, you might want to adjust the garlic amount according to your tastes.