Pasta with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes, Leeks, and Goat Cheese Recipe

Good Morning!

I got my wisdom teeth out yesterday and I already miss chewing. But frankly, it wasn’t as bad as I was anticipating so I can’t really complain. I’m just happy that I finally got it over with! 5 years in the making..I’m the worst patient ever hah!

I made this pasta dish last week for my friends and it was a big hit. I had to jump on the feta tomato pasta trend. And if you don’t know what I’m talking about, some food blogger from Finland created a simple pasta dish where you roast cherry tomatoes and feta in a pan and then toss it together with cooked pasta and fresh basil. And apparently it was the greatest invention since sliced bread because it has been EVERYWHERE.

I was going to try to make this pasta dish with feta (and if you prefer feta over goat cheese, try it and let me know how it is) but I wanted to switch things up a bit to make the recipe my own. And you know how much I love my goat cheese!!

The recipe starts by adding leeks, cherry tomatoes, garlic cloves, thyme sprigs, salt, pepper, and olive oil. All of this deliciousness gets roasted at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

You could honestly just eat this as a side dish. Leeks are such an underrated vegetable. I love them.

Now add the log of goat cheese, a bit more olive oil, and red pepper flakes. Pop it back in the oven until the cheese gets all nice and melty. Melty goat cheese is the BEST THING EVER. Seriously though, it melts way better than feta. These viral pasta people don’t know what they’re doing..;)

Once the goat cheese is nice and melted I remove the thyme sprigs and mix everything together.

YUM. Again this mixture, with some crusty bread for dipping, would be a delicious appetizer.

Add in your cooked pasta (I went with fusilli because I like the shape, but any pasta works), parmesan cheese (because more cheese is always a good idea) lemon juice and lemon zest for brightness, some fresh parsley, and a bit of the pasta water to combine everything nicely together.

Season to taste and serve! This is so delicious you guys. LIKE SERIOUSLY SO GOOD!!! Just trying to get my point across. Go make this asap and let me know what you think 🙂

Tomato Leek Goat Cheese Pasta

Serves 3-4

Ingredients:

¾ pound dried fusilli (or any pasta shape you like!)
1 pint cherry tomatoes
2 leeks, washed and sliced in half moon shape
4 sprigs fresh thyme
3 whole garlic cloves
⅓ cup olive oil
1 tbsp crushed red pepper flakes
4-6oz goat cheese (log form)
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 tbsp flat leaf parsley, minced
Salt and pepper

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 400. In a heat proof skillet, add the cherry tomatoes, leeks, garlic cloves, fresh thyme, most of the olive oil, and a generous pinch of salt and pepper.
Toss to combine and roast for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile bring a large pot of water to a boil to cook the pasta. After the 20 minutes, remove from the oven, add the log of goat cheese to the center. Drizzle with a bit more olive oil and the crushed red pepper flakes. Place back in the oven for 10 more minutes.
Meanwhile, cook pasta to al dente. Make sure to reserve about ½ cup of the pasta cooking liquid.
Once out of the oven, remove thyme springs and toss everything to combine. Add in the cooked pasta, lemon juice, lemon zest, parsley, parmesan cheese, and a ladle of pasta water. Stir to combine and season to taste. Serve immediately.

The sweet roasted leeks with the creamy goat cheese and salty parmesan. A truly magical combination of flavors. I hope you give this recipe a try! Such a simple and delicious weeknight meal.

XX Chelcie