Olive Tapenade Pasta

Who loves pasta? And tomatoes, and goat cheese, and tapenade? {Oh, me….me!}

You do, too?

Well, I have the perfect go-to meal for you. And the best part is there aren’t any rules on what you can add, either.

All you need are four simple ingredients and about 15 to 20 minutes. Viola!

12 oz. pasta, such as bowtie or radiator, cooked according to package directions

10 oz. jar of green olive tapenade (or roasted red pepper)

4 oz. goat cheese

handful cherry tomatoes, halved

salt & pepper to taste

Once the pasta is cooked and drained, return the noodles to the pot and add the goat cheese, stirring until melted in.

Next add the tapenade and mix until everything is combined and warm. Stir in the tomatoes.

*The tomatoes are optional but they really add something to this dish.

If you don’t like tomatoes there are lots of other things that would be excellent.

Substitute the pasta for rice pasta and you’ve got a gluten-free meal!

Flat Bread Heaven

I came across this simple recipe so long ago I can’t even remember when…maybe a dozen years ago? I have made this a variety of ways but I always come back to the original. I love this flat bread. It is so good and wholesome.

1 piece whole wheat flat bread

1 oz. goat cheese

1 plum or roma tomato, sliced or diced

fresh basil leaves (it’s a matter of taste)

Broil for a few minutes. I use my toaster oven and do a quick toast as well to get the bottom.

EXTRAS:

I always use a cooking brush (a small paint brush- about 1 inch. wide) and brush a very thin layer of EVOO over the bread. Then I cut up the goat cheese and sprinkle it over the bread. It’ll soften pretty quick so then you can smooth it out over the bread if you want. A little goat cheese goes a long way, and it’s better to smooth it out some so that little pieces aren’t rolling off your wedge as you’re trying to eat it.

Any type of tomato will do. If you want sliced, slice them thin. Diced tomatoes tend to roll off the bread (I had that problem today in fact!) but makes biting into it all easier.

I’ve used dried basil in a pinch so if you don’t have any fresh don’t let that stop you. Fresh tends to shrivel up when heated, so use a lot. I love basil and no recipe could possibly call for enough. I used fresh today and as you can see, it shriveled up quite a bit. It was still tasty but clearly I didn’t use enough.

I’ve also used feta and provolone cheeses. I love feta! But this does not make for a low-fat meal, so stick with the goat cheese.

Enjoy!