Goat Cheese and Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta

Richy, creamy, filling, and delectable are some adjectives that could be used to describe the dinner that the husband and I made this evening. The first two don't do much to aid the diet that I am on, but the last two certainly help. I suppose that when it comes to a diet, if you are having something that it creamy and you have it in a smaller portion, the fact that the dish is filling is extremely important. Perhaps, it was the use of whole wheat pasta that helped.

Whole wheat pasta is one of those foods that I don't always use, but should use more often than it's alternative. When whole wheat pasta first came onto the scene, it didn't taste so great. It tasted cardboard-like and it's texture could be described as the same way. However, the pasta I used tonight was not cardboard-like, though I think I should be introduced to a new whole-wheat pasta. Readers, do you have any suggestions? If so, please leave a comment.

Let's get back to the meal. I was fortunate that the husband offered his sous-chef prep skills this evening. He was in charge of starting the water for the pasta as I showered after another hard spinning class. The husband also was put in charge of cutting up the sun-dried tomatoes. As mentioned before, this recipe is not necessarily diet friendly, but I made a couple of modifications to it to help my waistline.

Adapted from Martha Stewart Everyday Foods (June 2006)
Printable Recipe
12 ounces short tubular pasta (I actually used the entire 13.25 oz box of Ronzoni Healthy Harvest Penne because I didn't feel like leaving 1.25 ounces of pasta in a box)
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes (The original recipe calls for 1 cup that is not oil packed. Unfortunately for me, and my thighs, I only had a jar of oil-packed tomatoes and only had 1/2 cup left)
1/4 cup sliced almonds (The original recipe calls for slivered almonds, but I have to use what I have in my cabinet)
2 teaspoons olive oil (I cut it down from a tablespoon and I think that it could use less oil next time)
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (There was no hiding this from the husband, he tasted the heat in the dish, thought it was minimal. He has such a sensitive palate.)
6 ounces crumbled goat cheese (The original calls for 5 ounces, but like the pasta I wasn't going to leave just 1 ounce)

1. Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling water, cook pasta three minutes less than package instructions. (Note: the sun-dried tomatoes are supposed to be added here, but I forgot about them until Step 3. If you chose to add the tomatoes here, cook the pasta for an additional 3 minutes). Remove 2 cups pasta water; reserve. Drain and return pasta to the pot.
   
2. Meanwhile, heat a small skillet over medium. Add almonds and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned and fragrant, 2-4 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl; reserve. Return skillet to medium heat; add oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, 20-30 seconds. Remove from heat.
3. Add garlic mixture to pasta mixture. Add reserved pasta water and cheese. Stir to combine. Let stand until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Divide onto plates and sprinkle with almonds.
   

The husband and I liked the crunchy texture that the almonds gave the pasta. One should also note that this dish would keep vampires away as it quite garlicky. Lucky for me, I love garlic. The numbers of servings suggested by Martha is four, though I think it could be stretched to 6 servings.