BROAD BEAN & GOATS' CHEESE SALAD

Pascal's new recipe book of 200 pasta recipes is excellent - at the moment we aren't using any other cook book - probably the reason I am struggling with my baby weight! There are recipes for everyone in it and some are very different to what I would normally choose.  As I have mentioned in previous posts, Arabella is a goats' cheese fanatic so she decided we should try this recipe. It is a pasta salad and it took about 15-20 minutes to cook.

Ingredients for 4 people:

250g ripe tomatoes
2 garlic cloves, peeled
5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
300g shelled broad beans, fresh or frozen (I didn't shell mine and mine were frozen)
300g dried pasta such as farfelle or penne
200g goats' cheese, crumbled
20 basil leaves, torn
Salt and pepper

Start by putting the tomatoes and garlic in a food processor and blitz until the tomatoes are finely chopped. Tip into a large bowl, stir in the oil and vinegar and season. I did 3 garlic cloves by mistake - it definitely doesn't need more than 2!

Cook the broad beans in a saucepan of boiling water according to the packet's instructions. Drain and rinse under cold water and repeat. Apparently now you are meant to shell the broad beans - I didn't bother with this part as it looked far too time consuming but I don't think it mattered! Stir the beans into the tomato mixture and leave them to marinate while you cook the pasta.

Cook the pasta in a large saucepan of salted boiling water until al dente (according to the packet instructions - mine took 8 minutes). Drain, rinse in cold water and drain again.

Stir the pasta into the tomato and broad bean mixture and then add the basil and the goats' cheese and toss together. Season according to taste and let it stand for 5 minutes before serving.

We were all very pleasantly surprised with this recipe - it tasted really good. I was shocked by how much Arabella enjoyed it - a good way to get veggies into kids. We all commented how we would like it as a hot pasta as well and I will definitely be blending the tomatoes like this again as it is a great way to make a sauce. Another successful recipe - perfect hot or cold and as a main or a side.

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