Fettuccini with Roasted Asparagus and Goat Cheese

by Crystal Maleski
(www.makedinnereasy.com)

This is an elegant entree that looks like it took a lot of time, but you can actually whip it up in about 25 minutes. My kids actually like it and my sports mom friends tell me their kids will eat it too!

Fettuccini with Roasted Asparagus and Goat Cheese

(Prep Time: 15 minutes Cooking Time: 10 minutes)

Ingredients

1 pound fettuccine noodles
1 pound fresh asparagus (about 2 bunches – try to select bunches with narrow stems if possible)
4 green onions, chopped with green portion reserved
4 garlic cloves, minced
½ cup olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 pint cherry tomatoes (approximately 2 cups), cut in half
1 (4 ounce) package of goat cheese crumbles (I use Saladena Brand)
¼ cup Parmesan cheese

Method

Place water on to boil for the fettuccine.
Preheat oven to 400°F.

Meanwhile, trim the asparagus by cutting off 1 ½ - 2” off of the cut ends. Discard these ends. Cut the remaining asparagus spears into 1-2" pieces.

Place the asparagus in a 9”x12” glass baking dish along with the white portion of the green onions and the minced garlic cloves.

Pour olive oil over veggies and sprinkle with salt. Toss the asparagus so the olive oil coats all pieces.

(The timing for this recipe works great if you put the fettuccine into the boiling water at the same time as you put the asparagus into the oven as they both take about 10 minutes to cook.)

Cook fettuccine as directed. Bake the asparagus mixture for 9 minutes. Add the cherry tomatoes, which have been cut in half, to the asparagus and continue to roast for 1 more minute. The amount of time necessary to roast the asparagus could differ depending on the thickness of the asparagus; a total of 10 minutes is usually about right.

Drain fettuccine. Add roasted asparagus to the fettuccine. Make sure you add all of the olive oil from the pan that the fettuccine was roasted in. Add the green onion tops, goat cheese and Parmesan cheese. Toss and serve.

Serves: 6-8 as a main course