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Easy Weeknight Balsamic and Goat Cheese Pasta

Ingredients

  • 4 cloves Garlic
  • 5 tbsp Olive oil
  • 10 oz Broccoli florets
  • 1/8 cup Sun dried tomatoes (Chopped)
  • 8 oz Baby bella mushroom (Sliced)
  • 2 Large handfuls of spinach
  • 1/2 tsp Salt (Plus more to taste)
  • 1/4 tsp Freshly ground black pepper (Plus more to taste)
  • 1/4 tsp Red chili flakes (Plus more to taste)
  • 1 box Penne pasta
  • 4 oz Goat cheese
  • 1/4 cup Balsamic vinegar
  • 1 Lemon (Juiced)
  • 1/4 cup Pine nuts

Instructions

  • Add 1 tbsp olive oil to a pan and heat on medium heat. Add chopped garlic and cook for 1 minute, or until fragrant. Add broccoli florets, along with 2 tbsp olive oil and lower heat to medium low, stirring every so often to make sure nothing burns. Cook for about 3 minutes.
  • Cook penne according to the instructions on the box. (If, like me, you used chickpea pasta, cook it for a minute or two less than it says to. It's not great mushy.)
  • Add the mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes, and 2 tbsp olive oil to the pan with the broccoli and garlic. Cook for a couple minutes and then mix in 2 large handfuls of spinach, then add in the salt, pepper and red chili flakes before decreasing the heat to low.
  • Once the spinach is fully incorporated and thoroughly wilted, add the balsamic vineger, lemon juice, and 2 of of the goat cheese and mix until a sauce forms.
  • Toast the pine nuts in a small pan on medium heat. They're ready when they start to smell nutty and look slightly golden and a big shiny. You'll want to keep a watchful eye on these, as they're expensive and burn quickly.
  • Add the pasta into the vegetable pan, along with 1 more oz of goat cheese and the toasted pine nuts. Mix to fully coat everything, and then add a bit more salt, pepper and red chili flakes to taste.
  • Portion into 4 bowls, and top with crumbled bits of the remaining goat cheese.