Asparagus and Baby Portobello Penne with Goat Cheese

It’s asparagus week here at Simply Fresh Cooking!  This dish is so ‘springy’ with the fresh asparagus.  The goat cheese is slightly tangy and once you mix it in with the hot pasta it becomes a flavorful cream sauce.  The pine nuts are a nice addition, adding a sweet nutty flavor.

I found this recipe from Whole Foods website last week while I was searching specifically for a dish with asparagus, mushrooms, and pasta… and this is what I came up with.  It was just a bonus that the recipe called for goat cheese, because not too long ago I tried goat cheese for the first time and couldn’t wait to use it again.  It’s one of my latest favorite things!

Save yourself some money:  Buy in bulk.  You’d be amazed how much you can save by doing that.  Here are 2 examples:

1. Goat cheese at Costco is $5.99 for 2 10.5 oz packages- at a regular grocery store it’s about $4.00 for 4 oz. 
2. Pine nuts at Costco are roughly $13 a pound as compared to about $30 per pound at a regular store. 

I did the recipe slightly different than Whole Foods to suit my own needs.  They used 3/4 lb farfalle pasta- I used 1/2 lb penne because that’s what I had in the pantry.  They used chicken or vegetable broth- I used low-sodium vegetable stock to make it healthier.  They steamed their asparagus- I threw it right in with the pasta to cut out an extra step.  As you can see, you can easily revise a recipe yourself if you need to.

Asparagus and Baby Portobello Penne with Goat Cheese

Adapted from Whole Foods Asparagus and Portobello Farfalle

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 cups sliced baby portobello mushrooms
• 1/3 cup low-sodium vegetable stock
• 1/2 pound (dry) whole wheat penne pasta
• 1 bunch asparagus (woody stems removed), cut on the diagonal into 1-inch pieces
  
• 1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup toasted pine nuts

Directions:

1. Cook Pasta according to package directions.  Add cut asparagus to the water during the last 5 minutes of pasta cook time.
2. While pasta is cooking:  Heat olive oil in a sauté pan and cook garlic and sliced mushrooms over medium-low heat until mushrooms are tender, 5 to 10 minutes. Add vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Set aside.
3. Toss hot drained pasta with the mushrooms, asparagus, goat cheese and parsley. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with toasted pine nuts.

Rachael xoxo