These next few months are always a little bit of a whirlwind for me. I tend to do the majority of my traveling in the summer months – which is true this year as I get ready to leave for Austin, New Orleans and Seattle in the next 4 weeks. But when I’m not traveling, I love hosting summer soirees. Not only do I host these little parties at home – but also I do all the cooking when my clients host parties at their house.
In the summer, everyone likes to keep things light and not too hot (temperature wise) because well, it’s already hot outside! This Herb and Goat Cheese Pasta Salad is the perfect dish for hot summer night soirees because:
a – you can make it ahead of time and let it sit at room temperature without worrying
b – it has a boat load of goat cheese in it, which really just means that it’s amazing
c – it travels well, so if you plan on taking a dish to a friends party, well, this is it!
Herb and Goat Cheese Pasta Salad is also kinda colorful and cheery. And everyone loves happy food!
You can mix it up with different kinds of pasta, herbs, cheese too! For example – I used a herbed goat cheese, but you could easily substitute a regular goat cheese, or feta or whatever else you have on hand.
Herb and Goat Cheese Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 1 lb dried pasta any shape will do
- 10 tbsp goat cheese
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 5 tbsp fresh basil cut into a chiffonade
- 1 lemon juiced
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1-2 cups Handful of cherry tomatoes
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to the package instructions. Once al dente, drain pasta and put back into the pot you used to cook it.
- Add the goat cheese, olive oil and garlic and stir to combine. Let cool.
- Once cooled, stir in the basil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Adjust seasonings if needed. Top with some chopped tomatoes and serve.
I never thought of using goat cheese in a pasta salad! This sounds great though, maybe I’ll give it a try on Monday!
This sounds like my perfect pasta salad!
This is the perfect salad for hot summer days when its just too hot to turn on the oven! The pictures are great!
Such a fresh & fabulous pasta salad!
So simple and sound delicious!!
Loving these pics, girl. Yum!
the salad looks great and i love how you shot it on wood. the contrast is awesome!
That pasta is such a great shape! Sounds like the perfect summer salad to me 🙂
Looks so pretty – where did you get the fancy pasta?
This is my kind of summer dish.
I could eat pasta salad all day. This would be the perfect contribution to any summer time barbecue.
Yum! Love how easy this is! I know what I’m bringing to my next potluck 🙂
Perfect for this weekend’s BBQ
Goat cheese makes EVERYTHING better, doesn’t it 🙂
Gaby, great suggestion. I was looking for a dish to bring to a BBQ! You solved my problem.
This is the perfect dish for me to make! Yum!
Mmm! Anything with goat cheese will win my heart! Sounds fab!
I love anything that has boat-loads of goat cheese!
Gaby- this sounds great! loooove goat cheese! When are you in Seattle!!?
Just so delicious – I make a similar salad, although I usually add some cut olives (black and green … or whatever I have in the fridge) and call it dinner ;).
I just googled these ingredients and your perfect recipe came up. just what I’m looking for – satisfying, yet still light and fresh!
Thank you!:)
Delicious, but it is not safe to leave cooked pasta at room temperature for and extended period.