Recipe Fun: Goat Cheese Pasta and Peach Basil Bruschetta

Nom nom... I could make some of this right now and eat loads of it.

This recipe was requested by a few people on Twitter after I showed the picture, so here we go!

Peach Basil Bruschetta
- Crusty bread of your choice, sliced or done into chunks. I used a multigrain French bread.
- Grape tomatoes, 30-35 of them, sliced in half
- 1 ripe peach. Ensure that this is ripe so that you can squeeze some of the juice into the mixture.
- Olive oil (tablespoon)
- Balsamic vinegar (to taste)
- Pomegranate red wine vinegar (tablespoon)
- Fresh basil leaves, approximately 10-15 depending on size, coarsely chopped

All you do is combine all of these ingredients. I usually do the peaches and tomatoes first, then the basil, then the liquids and toss it. Once you have it, serve with the bread! It's a great appetizer.

Goat Cheese Pasta, serves 4
- 16 oz. pasta, your choice (I used whole wheat penne)
- 10-12 oz. of goat's cheese
- 1 cup of 1% milk (do not use skim, you need the little bit of fat)
- 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup of mozzarella cheese (to garnish)
- 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter or margarine, you can use light if you wish
- 4 tablespoons of flour
- 1 tablespoon of garlic
- 1 tablespoon of italian seasoning
- Fresh basil leaves, 6-7 of them, finely chopped

Start off by creating a rue over medium heat. Melt the butter and add in the flour. Stir until you have a thick paste. Do not allow the mixture to burn, and add the milk. Stir. Let the mixture come to a low boil; it will take 10 minutes or so.

Add in the goat cheese in sections by scooping out spoonfuls and stirring it as you add it to the mixture. Don't allow the cheese to congeal, so keep it moving. Once that is all melted, add the parmesan and a little mozzarella, if you wish. Add the fresh basil, garlic and italian seasoning. Continually stir the mixture until all of the cheese is melted. (Be warned that non stick pans do not like these types of 'wet' cheese in the pan, so if you don't keep the sauce moving, it will lump up in the pan.)

Bring the water for the pasta to a boil as you keep an eye on the cheese mixture. Taste it throughout and add more seasoning to your own tastes. You may need to add a little more milk (1/4 of a cup of so) to make it more fluid, it depends on the thickness of the goat cheese you select.

Drain the pasta and serve the cheese sauce over top with a garnish of fresh basil leaves and mozzarella. This is a very flavorful dish -- the goat cheese is creamy and smooth with a slight nutty flavor. Really lovely with the peach bruschetta.

Enjoy!