Sometimes, a dish is so simple that it is hard to call it a recipe. This is one of those dishes, using a container of goat cheese to create an easy but delicious sauce for pasta and asparagus. Look for goat cheese with roasted garlic and basil (or another combination if available). Plain goat cheese will also work, but add 2 teaspoons of grainy mustard for more flavor. Goat cheese will create a sauce similar to Alfredo, but without the fattening butter or cream.

Any variety of pasta will work in this dish, but my preference is a short, shaped pasta such as rotini. As the pasta boils in salted water, starch is released into the water. Reserved pasta water helps bind the sauce together (in a pinch, it can also help you stretch too little sauce without compromising flavor too much).

Pasta and Asparagus with Goat Cheese

1 box (1 lb) pasta
1 tbsp sea salt
1 lb asparagus, tough ends removed and cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces
1 container (about 5 oz) goat cheese with basil and roasted garlic
Parmesan cheese, optional

Bring a large pot of water to a full, rolling boil. Add sea salt and pasta. Cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, then add asparagus. Cook an additional 5 minutes, until pasta is al dente and asparagus is tender. Drain, reserving about 1 cup of pasta water.

Add goat cheese to pasta and asparagus, stirring to melt. Add small amounts of reserved pasta water until sauce is at desired consistency. Top with Parmesan cheese just before serving, if desired.  

Frugal Breakdown:
1 box pasta: $0.88 
sea salt : negligible
1 lb asparagus: $2.86
1 container goat cheese: $4.79 
Parmesan cheese: $0.50
TOTAL: $9.03

Verdict: Success, though goat cheese is more expensive than a jar of Alfredosauce. Asparagus can also be an expensive produce item, depending on the time of year (in late spring, the price per pound can be as low as $0.99). Sales on pasta were a little higher this time around, $0.88 instead of $0.50 for a box, which is still not a bad deal.

This entry was posted on Monday, March 9th, 2009 at 5:05 am and is filed under Frugal Nation, Jenn's Favorites, Main Dishes, Recipes, Rice & Pasta, Special Projects, Vegan/Vegetarian. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.