Asparagus, Goat Cheese & Lemon Pasta

Its Friday! That means it's time for another Your Recipe- My Kitchen Post.

I bookmarked this Asparagus, Goat Cheese and Lemon Pasta from Smitten Kitchen a while ago.  I can't believe it took me this long to get around to making it...

so many recipes, so little time...

I loved the simplicity of this dish, you were able to taste every single ingredient in this pasta. 

This weekend I was watching an episode of Americas Test Kitchen and they made a pasta dish that had cheese in it. Something they suggested, which I did with this dish, was to boil your pasta in less water if you plan on using the pasta water.  I used a lot less water when I boiled this, leaving a much starchier water that helped the sauce coat the pasta better.  I also mixed about 1/2 cup of the pasta water into the cheese to melt it before tossing with the pasta.  Enjoy!!

recipe from Smitten Kitchen

What you need:

1 pound shaped pasta
1 pound thin asparagus spears, trimmed, cut into 1- to 1 1/2-inch pieces
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
2 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon plus more for garnish
1 5- to 5 1/2-ounce log soft fresh goat cheese (the pre-crumbled stuff will not melt as well)
Fresh lemon juice to taste (optional)

What you do:

Cook your pasta in a large pot of well-salted water until it is almost tender, about three minutes before the pasta is done cooking add asparagus and cook until firm-tender, another two to three minutes. Drain both pasta and asparagus together, reserving one cup of pasta water.

Meanwhile,mix together your olive oil, lemon zest, tarragon and cheese in a large bowl, breaking up the goat cheese as you put it in. Add 1/2 cup of the pasta water to the mixture and stir until it softens. Add hot pasta and asparagus to bowl.  Toss until smoothly combined, adding more pasta water if needed. Season generously with salt and pepper, and lemon juice.

Linking up to these happening parties