goat cheese | familystyle food

Apr62013

I was at 35,000 feet and hungry. Why didn’t I have this taco wrapped, packed and ready to eat during my long day of traveling?

Well, you know how it goes. I had a morning flight to San Francisco (where I’m attending the annual IACP conference), and somehow my priority tasks before heading out the door didn’t include packing myself a lunch. I made do for a few hours with a bag of almonds and my favorite peanut butter-chocolate chip Lara bar.

I finally caved during my layover. I bought a 10-dollar sandwich that promised tomato, basil and mozzarella, but was really just doughy bread, a fat slab of rubbery cheese and half a slice of mealy tomato. It kind of reminded me of Seinfeld’s airport skit and the 14-dollar tuna sandwich.

On a normal day at home, I eat vegetable-based things for lunch. My ideal combo is a pile of salad leaves, some protein (usually in the form of beans or legumes) maybe some leftover roasted vegetables, if I have them, and some kind of grain.

I’ve been cooking up a batch of chickpeas once a week, which are perfect for throwing into my lunch assemblages. The smashed chickpeas topping this taco are a favorite alternative to hummus. They’re somewhat chunky in texture and have an appetizing brick red color – and flavor – that comes from smoked paprika.

smoky chickpea tacos

Yield: makes 4 tacos

I won't tell if you embellish these tacos with a squirt of your favorite hot sauce...

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1/3 cup finely chopped white onion

½ of a jalapeno pepper, finely chopped

Salt

2 teaspoons smoked paprika

1 – 14 ounce can chickpeas, drained

4 whole wheat tortillas, warmed

1 avocado, peeled, pitted and diced

1 ripe tomato, sliced

Arugula greens; a few handfuls

4 ounces soft goat cheese

2 limes

Instructions

Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Cook the onion, jalapeno and a pinch of salt until softened and fragrant. Stir in the paprika and heat in the oil 30 seconds; add the chickpeas and ¼ cup water and simmer 5 minutes.
Remove from the heat and mash the chickpeas coarsely with a potato masher or wooden spoon. Add a little more water if the mixture is too thick. Taste the chickpeas and season with more salt if needed.
To make a taco, spread some of the chickpeas over a tortilla. Layer with some avocado, tomato, arugula and goat cheese. Repeat with remaining tortillas. Squeeze half a lime over each taco and serve.

http://familystylefood.com/2013/04/smoky-chickpea-tacos/

Capellini Pasta with Goat Cheese and Thyme

Jul272007

California-Style Pasta with Thyme and Goat Cheese

Way back in the ‘80’s my favorite meal was a roast beef sandwich on a toasted “bulky” roll, which in parts of the world other than Rhode Island would be known as a Kaiser, smothered with mushrooms, piled high with salty meat and so juicy the bulky would be saturated and falling to pieces after just two bites. I’d get them at Chelo’s, a chain of local restaurants.

I’m dating myself here, but that was a quarter of a century ago. I was in high school, my hair was big, and if you’d offered me a pizza with goat cheese on it I know I would’ve looked at you funny.

At the same time, Wolfgang Puck was in Hollywood creating California cuisine – pulling pizzas out of wood-burning ovens and serving salads as entrees at his legendary restaurant Spago.

Look how we’ve grown up! I now love goat cheese, Wolfgang Puck has become as much a brand name as Chef Boyardee, and you can walk into your local mini-mart, grab a frozen Wolfgang Puck pizza, microwave it and eat it in the car (I’m not saying that’s a good thing).

The August issue of Food & Wine has a feature story about Puck, which got me interested in this recipe. Apparently, this was the first pasta dish on the menu at Spago and put goat cheese on America’s culinary map.

I haven’t had a roast beef sandwich in years, but I did have a look at the 2007 Chelo’s menu – the sandwich is still there – along with Asian grilled salmon on California mesclun greens.

Capellini with Goat Cheese, Thyme and Toasted Pine Nuts

Inspired by Wolfgang Puck

12 ounces dried capellini pasta
1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 ounces soft goat cheese
2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
Thyme sprigs, for garnish

Cook the capellini in a large pot of boiling salted water.

Meanwhile, bring the broth to a boil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the thyme and simmer until reduced by half. Lower heat, stir in the butter and goat cheese until melted and smooth.

Drain the capellini and add to the skillet, tossing to coat with sauce.

Twirl the capellini into portions with a large serving fork or tongs and place on individual plates. Sprinkle with pine nuts and garnish with thyme, if you like.

Serves 4-6.

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