Goat Cheese and Garlic Pasta

This is an easy shortcut to an “alfredo” like pasta sauce. The goat cheese will melt and coat all the noodles and give you a creamy but lighter tasting pasta dish. Feel free to add some red pepper flakes, or lemon zest on top.

Recipe by Tierney Larson

4-6 servings

Ingredients:

Kosher Salt

8oz linguine or spaghetti

1 tbl olive oil

5 sprigs of fresh oregano

2 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled

1/4 cup chicken stock

1/2 tsp white balsamic vinegar or a squeeze of lemon juice (to taste)

4 oz goat cheese

Black pepper freshly ground

Flaky sea salt (optional)

Ok so….

Fill a large pot with 4 quarts of water and set over high heat to bring to a boil, add a generous amount of kosher salt (your pasta water should taste like the sea!). Add your pasta to the boiling water and begin cooking until al dente while you make this quick sauce.

Add the olive oil and the garlic cloves to a medium saute pan and set it over medium heat. Allow the garlic to permeate the oil as it heats up. When the garlic starts to be fragrant and gently sizzle, add 4 of the oregano sprigs and stand back (it will pop). Give a few stirs and cook for 1 minute. Add the chicken stock and stir, season with kosher salt and some black pepper. Let the sauce simmer for a minute or two while you finish cooking your pasta and then remove the oregano sprigs and discard.

When the pasta is al dente, add it straight from the pot into the pan of sauce using a spider or tongs. Add about a 1/4 cup or a ladle full of pasta water to the sauce and stir it all together while it simmers. Add a splash or 2 of the white balsamic vinegar, and then add the goat cheese stirring until it coats the pasta. Add a few good grinds of black pepper.

Pour into a serving bowl and top with the leaves from your remaining oregano sprig, and some finishing flaky sea salt.