Busy Weekend, Easy Dinner: Angel Hair with Sun-dried Tomatoes and Goat Cheese

It’s been a busy weekend. I feel as though I’ve been having a lot of those lately, but it is the honest truth. Long weeks; busy weekends. We enjoyed Friday night with some friends playing board games by candlelight. The tradition started last spring when we had these friends over to our place for dinner, the same night as Earth Hour. As recommended, we powered down in our house, and lit an array of candles while we played board games. After the prescribed time was up, we didn't want to turn the lights back on. It was so much fun that we’ll never be able to turn back now!

On Saturday I ran errands and tried to start a mushroom lasagna before attending an awards ceremony, as I was being recognized as the nominator of an award recipient. Today we labored away working on cleaning out my mother-in-law’s old home. The task was enormous, and I am so grateful to my wonderful family for stepping up to help without hesitation. My mother prepared a delicious spread for when we were ready to break for lunch. The men ate ham sandwiches, while I enjoyed her egg salad. For dessert we had homemade chocolate chip cookies and pumpkin rice pudding (which she appropriately added chocolate too – we do love that combination). We made a good dent (with the food and the house), but our work is yet to be done.

At the end of the day, my husband and I returned home entirely exhausted, and much in need of a homemade meal. My lasagna was waiting to be finished, but we couldn’t curb our hunger long enough for that to be completed. I went to my go-to recipe for when I want a quickly made meal from scratch, using pantry ingredients. I’ve made this many times and it never disappoints. I keep all of these ingredients in my pantry, and always have some goat cheese on hand (it has a very long refrigerator life for a cheese!). If I don’t have any Italian parsley, I’ll just omit it, even thought it adds some nice contrasting color to the pasta.

You may have noticed that tomato paste is one of my favorite ingredients, and I’ll jump at any opportunity to cook with it. The intensity of the tomato paste, the sweetness of the sun-dried tomatoes, and the tanginess of the goat cheese make this a delicious pasta. The goat cheese also adds a creamy texture. You can use any kind of pasta, but I like using angel hair with this recipe because it cooks so quickly. On different occasions, I’ve added chicken, shrimp, scallops, or lump crab to this pasta to add some protein. I also think a fillet of grilled swordfish would be delicious served with it!

Angel Hair with Sun-dried Tomatoes and Goat Cheese
(Adapted from Everyday Pasta)
Ingredients
1 (8.5 oz.) jar sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, chopped (oil reserved)
1 small onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste (preferably with Italian seasoning)
1 cup dry white wine
1 pound angel hair pasta
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
5 oz. soft fresh goat cheese, coarsely crumbled
3 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, chopped

Directions

Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes in a heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until tender, about 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the wine and sun-dried tomatoes and simmer until the liquid reduces by half, about 2 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup of cooking liquid. Add the pasta to the tomato mixture and toss to coat, adding some reserved cooking liquid to moisten. Season the pasta, to taste, with salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes. Sprinkle with the goat cheese and parsley and stir. Mound the pasta into bowls and serve.

Check Out Quinoa: Quinoa with Sun-Dried Tomatoes

We had a great weekend hosting our cousins who were in town for a post-holiday visit. These newlyweds were unable to make it for Christmas, as the snowy roads weren’t safe for them to drive here. But they had a whirlwind weekend trying to stop by and visit with every family member who was available. We were lucky enough to have them overnight, which meant we went out for a great Creole dinner on Saturday (followed by some live Irish music at a nearby pub), and had a homemade brunch on Sunday morning.

My sister and her family joined us for brunch and I made one of our cousins’ favorites, and my mom provided some pumpkin bread for us to serve them. While the men tinkered outside with an unfortunate flat tire, the women sipped mimosas inside and looked after the kids. (My nephew is always entertained at his “Auntie” and “Unc”’s house with our one and only "toy", the “Big Red Ball”.)

Prior to our guests arriving on Saturday, I spent the day stocking up on the necessary groceries. While in the checkout line at Trader Joe’s (home of ever-friendly employees), my cashier commented on the quinoa I was buying like it was being discontinued in bulk. She mentioned that she liked quinoa but didn’t know what to do with it. I started rattling off several recipe ideas, and as her eyes widened, I tore off some paper from my grocery list, and scribbled down the URL for my blog. This is one of the recipes I mentioned to her, and while I made it a week ago, in the event that she is joining us here online looking for ways to use her quinoa, I must deliver!

I love tomatoes (in any form) and quinoa. I recently did a search for some ideas of how to incorporate sun-dried tomatoes, and found a recipe which I then slightly adapted. This is delicious, and also has a spicy kick! (You could avoid the spice by substituting the Jalapeño with a green bell pepper, and omitting the cayenne.)

Quinoa with Sun-Dried Tomatoes
(Adapted from Lisa's Kitchen)
Ingredients
1 cup of quinoa, rinsed and drained
2 cups low sodium vegetable stock
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 shallots, minced
1 large Jalapeño pepper, chopped
1 cup of corn
½ teaspoon of ground cumin
½ teaspoon of ground coriander
½ teaspoon of cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon of kosher salt
¼ teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons of fresh parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons of grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

Directions
Heat olive oil in a medium pot over medium heat. When hot, add the shallots and garlic and sauté for a few minutes. Add the sun-dried tomatoes and Jalapeño to the pot, and stir cook for 4-5 minutes.

Add spices, corn, quinoa, and vegetable sock. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed.

Add parsley and Parmigiano Reggiano, stir, and serve.

End of the Season: Penne with Triple Tomato Sauce

I went to the farmers’ market last week and while ushering out one season, I welcomed another. It was my last chance to purchase fresh tomatoes for the year (a frost came the next day), and I purchased them in bulk. I grabbed as many tomatoes as I could carry and spent a few days pondering how to best use them. I ended up making one final batch of soup, and some tomato sauce that I’ll freeze and pull out during the winter as a reminder of warmer days.

The tomato sauce I made is a no-cook recipe that is quick and easy. It incorporates three different kinds of tomatoes (fresh tomatoes, tomato paste, and sun-dried tomatoes) to create an intense tomato flavor. Instead of using extra-virgin olive oil, I use the olive oil that the sun-dried tomatoes have been resting in. I also double (at least) the amount of tomato paste. I tossed a little sauce with some cooked penne, and have reserved the majority of it for later uses. You could use this with ravioli, chicken, and I have even poached eggs in it. I garnished the penne with a little Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Penne with Triple Tomato Sauce
(From Food & Wine, August 2007)
Ingredients
* 1 pound penne
* 2 medium tomatoes (5 ounces each), cut into 1-inch dice
* 4 oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained
* 2 tablespoons tomato paste
* 4 large basil leaves
* 1 garlic clove
* 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
* Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions
1. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the penne until al dente.
2. Meanwhile, in a blender, combine the diced tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, tomato paste, basil, garlic and olive oil. Puree until smooth. Pour the tomato sauce into a large bowl and season with salt and pepper.
3. Drain the pasta, add it to the sauce and toss well to coat. Serve the pasta piping hot.