With spring winding down, it’s time to squeeze in the last of this season’s recipes before delving into the tastes of summer. One of our favorite spring eats is goat cheese, because there are about a million ways to incorporate it into your diet. Below, we’re including our Chef Gerard Thompson’s famous recipe for Goat Cheese Mac & Cheese. Throw out those Kraft boxes and let us know your take on this meal!
INGREDIENTS
- 1 pound Cooked Orecchiette Pasta (about 5 cups)
- 3 Cups Heavy Cream
- ½ Cup Fresh Goat Cheese
- 12 Cloves Roasted Garlic, Chopped
- 24 Spears or 2 cups Fresh Asparagus, cut up
- 1/2 Cup Sun Dried Tomatoes
- 1 Cup Grape tomatoes, quartered
- 8 Slices Crisp Bacon, or pancetta Chopped
- 1/4 Cup Chopped Basil, Parsley & Thyme
- 1/4 Cup Grated Reggiano Parmesan Cheese
- Kosher Salt & Cracked Black Pepper to taste
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain. Cool under running water. Place in Stainless steel bowl when cool and dry.
- Heat 1 Quart of Heavy Cream in a Large pot over medium High heat. Reduce cream until slightly thick, about 15 minutes.
- Place Cream in high speed blender and blend in goat cheese. Season with Kosher salt & Cracked Black pepper
- Pour cream mixture over pasta.
- Add roasted garlic, asparagus, sun dried tomatoes, Bacon and herbs. Mix until all evenly incorporated.
- Place in buttered dish. Top with parmesan cheese (and more goat cheese if you like) and bake 20 minutes or until hot all the way through and brown on top.