Presto Pasta Night: Spaghetti With Arugula And Goat Cheese

I should have called this Memory Loss pasta.  Alzheimer's runs in my family, and once you have that hanging over your head, even minor memory lapses can give you pause.  This recipe should have included mushrooms and Italian parsley, but I forgot to take my grocery list when I went shopping.  That left me trying to jump start the recipe in my mind as I perused the produce section at the store.  I intended to include beautiful wild mushrooms in the dish, but walked right past them.  Cheetos always yell "Buy me dummy," when I walk past them, but the shy mushrooms said nary a word.  As a result, this is a very simple recipe, just pasta, garlic, arugula, and goat cheese.  Fortunately, that's all you need to have a delicious meal.  I'll make this with the mushrooms someday, but it was fine this way.  I was fortunate to receive a huge bag of organic baby arugula from my friend Nancy, and I always love the peppery taste it gives to  pasta.  The goat cheese added its own creamy tang, so the pasta was full of flavor.  And this is a fairly low fat dish, with the dark greens the nutrition experts want us to eat.

Fortunately, I did remember that the lovely Ruth at Once Upon A Feast has a weekly event, Presto Pasta Night.  Starting tomorrow, she will have a round-up of wonderful pasta recipes from around the world, so do check it out!

Spaghetti With Arugula And Goat Cheese

(Epicurious)

Ingredients

1 lb spaghetti
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/4 lb  mushrooms, sliced (I left this out by mistake)
1/2 tsp salt
4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
4 cups arugula, coarsely chopped
6 oz goat cheese, crumbled
1/3 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped  (Forgot this too)

Cook pasta according to package directions, but before draining, reserve 1/2 cup cooking water. While the pasta is cooking, heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and salt and cook, stirring frequently, 2 or 3 minutes or until mushrooms are soft. Add garlic and cook another 2 or 3 minutes until garlic is soft and most of the liquid has evaporated. Toss pasta with mushrooms, arugula, and goat cheese. Stir in reserved cooking liquid until cheese becomes creamy. Toss in parsley and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Comments

[Nabeela]

You are like me! Sometimes I end up grocery shopping not planned, and I have no clue what to buy for the recipes I've marked for the week...sigh

[Tanna]

Why is it mushrooms are so quiet? Cheetos don't yell at me but chips do! Looks plenty good with the goat cheese and arugula!

[Alisha]

Hey, those Cheetos jumped into my cart earlier this week -- I've been ignoring them lately but this week they were just too loud.

As for this pasta .. it looks wonderful .. even without the mushrooms. Perfect for a quick dinner.

[Anh]

Sher, I can really eat this right now! And what a beauty when it is quick to make!

[Kalyn]

Who needs mushrooms or parsley? You have two of my very favorite ingredients here!

[aria]

hahaha for shame! you crack me up so bad. it looks delicious anyhoo.

[gattina]

I can go crazy with arugula, so even this version without mushroom or garlic, fine with me.
One time while I was preparing some sauce, so put a dish of (cooked) pasta which already tossed with cheese on the table, my husband couldn't wait and eat it, he said it's soooo good even just like that! Yes, low fat too (no matter what sauce it still carries some extra calories...).
Sher, you made me (certainly plus my husband) cry for this pasta today!!!

[Ruth]

I couldn't agree more and ....we had something similar last night. So great minds...and all that.

Thanks for sharing this with Presto Pasta Night.

[Truffle]

I really love this combination. It looks so fresh and delicious.

[Melly]

See..I always think if you make pasta ya gotta have the sauce and all the other junk. I am dead wrong. Great pics, as usual.

[Katie]

I love pasta with goat cheese. Wonder how it would have been with the Cheetos? A nice crunchy topping....

[anne]

Yum, yum, yum. To echo Melly above - lovely photos, as always!

[Lydia]

Every now and then I go to the store, realize I've forgotten my shopping list, buy things willy-nilly -- and then get home and realize I actually had the list in my bag all along, and I ended up getting most of what was on the original list. Go figure.

[Glenna]

Mmmmmm...you had me at "goat cheese"

[Belinda]

How funny about the Cheetos yelling and the little mushrooms being quiet, Sher! Isn't that the truth?! Gosh, this looks so good...simple can often be the best, that's for certain. :-)