Roasted Tomato, Spinach Linguine with Warm Goat Cheese Rounds.

Gawd, that's a mouthful but an oh so yummy one!

This dish has a little sugar and red pepper added to it that gives you a lovely range of flavors. It balances really well with the tanginess of the goat cheese. I prepared the goat cheese in the morning and refrigerated until dinner. Another time saver is to roast the tomatoes ahead of time.

Roasted Tomato, Spinach Linguine with Warm Goat Cheese Rounds.

Tomatoes
2 cups grape or cherry tomatoes
2 or 3 tablespoons olive oil
salt, pepper, garlic powder, dried basil and dried oregano

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spread tomatoes on a cookie sheet, coat with olive oil, sprinkle with spices. Bake for 20 minutes or until tomatoes split open, get all prune wrinkly and are sweet and awesome. Set aside while making the rest of the meal.

Linguine
1/4 cup dried Italian breadcrumbs
1 (4 ounces) package log shaped goat cheese
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup coarsely chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
roasted tomatoes - from above
1 (10 ounce) bag fresh baby spinach
1 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
3/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
6 cups hot cooked linguine (about 12 ounces uncooked) I made my own so I don't have an exact number.

1. Preheat over to 400 degrees
2. Place breadcrumbs in a flat dish. Slice goat cheese crosswise into 4 rounds of 1/2 inch. Press into the breadcrumbs. Coat on all sides. Place on a baking sheet, chill.
3. While the goat cheese rounds are chillin' in the fridge, start a huge pot of salted water to boil for the pasta. Heat oil in a large non-stick pan over medium heat. Toss in onion, cook for a 3 to 4 minutes then add the garlic. After another 2 to 3 more minutes add the spinach. Sprinkle the sugar, red pepper, basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Toss to distribute. Add roasted tomatoes with all the juices. Take off the heat as soon as the tomatoes warm back up.
4. Bake the cheese rounds at 400 degrees for 10 minutes or until soft.
5. Cook pasta. When done add to tomato and spinach mixture. Add about a 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Toss to combine. Serve topped with one or two of the goat cheese rounds.



According to JR this was so good that I would be doing all of you a disservice if I didn't blog about it. It was wonderfully blog worthy, healthy, low in fat and calories (about 360 calories and 12 grams of fat for that huge serving above) and it's pretty too! If you use whole wheat you could make this even healthier. It's a perfect Meatless Monday meal.




Love,
M