Orecchiette with Roasted Tomatoes, Spinach, and Goat Cheese

The other day while food shopping at Wegmans I (Christina) was by the Mediterranean bulk food section and saw some delicious looking roasted tomatoes.  Next to the tomatoes was a recipe for Pasta with Roasted Tomatoes, Spinach, and Goat Cheese… 4 things I absolutely LOVE.  I immediately picked up a recipe card and scooped some roasted tomatoes in a plastic container.  I never got around to making this recipe until a week later! But when I finally did make this recipe…it certainly did not disappoint.  This recipe is SO easy to make- it took only 15 minutes to prepare- and it really is delicious.

Ingredients

• 1 C oven-roasted tomatoes (from the Mediterranean Bar at Wegmans…or you can make them yourself!), reserve 1/4 C oil
• 1 tsp minced garlic (I LOVE garlic- so I used WAY more than this)
• 2 6 oz packages of baby spinach
• 1 box (17.6 oz) of Orecchiette (I used Wegman’s Italian Classics kind)
• 4 oz goat cheese

Directions

1. Cook pasta according to the package directions and reserve the water after you drain the pasta.
2. Add the reserved oil from the tomatoes to a large skillet on med-high.  Add the garlic and cook for about one minute (until garlic is softened but NOT browned)
3. Add the spinach and cook until wilted and then stir in the tomatoes
4. Add the drained pasta and reserved water (not all of it..just a small amount..to your liking) to the skillet and heat through.  Add cracked pepper and a touch of salt (if you want) and sprinkle the goat cheese!

I can not really think of anything to change about this recipe…maybe it could use some cooking wine?  hmmm.  I dont really know. It was great as is but I am sure someone can think up of SOMETHING to make this recipe even better…any ideas?

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Tagged as: goat cheese, orecchiette, roasted tomatoes, spinach, wegmans