Pasta With Fresh Tomatoes and Goat Cheese
Published Aug. 9, 2022

- Total Time
- 25 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- Kosher salt
- 2pounds very ripe tomatoes, coarsely chopped
- 1teaspoon fresh thyme or oregano leaves
- ½teaspoon red-pepper flakes, plus more as needed
- 2ounces Parmesan cheese, coarsely grated, plus more as needed
- 1pound fusilli or another spiral pasta
- 1(4-ounce) log goat cheese, crumbled
Preparation
- Step 1
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
- Step 2
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, thyme, red-pepper flakes and ½ teaspoon salt. Mash with a fork or potato masher until tomatoes are juicy. Stir in the Parmesan. Set aside while the pasta cooks, or up to 2 hours at room temperature.
- Step 3
Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook according to package instructions until al dente. Reserve ½ cup pasta cooking water, then drain the pasta.
- Step 4
To the bowl of tomatoes, add the goat cheese and 2 tablespoons of the reserved pasta cooking water. Stir until the cheese is mostly melted. Add the pasta and stir vigorously until the noodles are well coated. Add more pasta water as needed until the sauce coats the noodles. Season to taste with additional Parmesan and red-pepper flakes.
Private Notes
Comments
Another good version of this is with Brie and Basil.
Really good summertime pasta option. Only change I made was to add 1/3 lb diced fried pancetta sprinkled on top before serving. With the pancetta it is was a tasty BLT pasta treat!
I do a version of this every summer. You can use any soft cheese - I use Boursin a lot, but brie works too. Basil, olive oil, garlic, garden fresh tomatoes. Nothing is better for summer.
I've tried this recipe twice, hoping that the result would change. I used beautiful and ripe garden tomatoes, a great Italian fusilli and goat cheese and parmesan from my neighborhood cheese shop here in Paris. The result both times was so bland and barely edible. Could someone with a successful result let me know how it was achieved?
This is delicious! I added more thyme and some garlic powder but that just enhanced an already excellent recipe. And it really only took as long as it takes to boil pasta. I would highly recommend as a week night dinner.
I used fresh basil and Trader Joe's goat cheese with honey, and it was delicious. That little touch of sweetness complemented the tomatoes.