Goat Cheese & Guanciale Aglio e Olio

I grew up eating pasta. My mom, who always made sauce from scratch, was also always unafraid to make it a little bit different each time. She would throw in a little bit of this and that until it tasted just right. While I agree certain pasta dishes are sacrosanct and best left alone, pasta can also provide a canvas of opportunity for creativity. What started out as a late night Aglio e Olio, pasta with great olive oil, lots of garlic and pepperoncini, transformed quickly when I found a lone vine tomato and a little goat cheese in my fridge, both begging to be used. What resulted was an incredibly simple, creamy and comforting pasta dish that had people flying into my DM’s. I later took a friends suggestion to add guanciale, and here we are.

Since pasta was imprinted on my foodie tastes from such a young age, it surprised me when I scrolled through my recipe page and realized I had only one other pasta recipe (this one here). Similarly, that recipe was born of a “dinner experiment”. Not all dinner experiments are successful but there are times when the ingredients you have on hand, laid out, suddenly present themselves like a match made in heaven (it’s always at that moment that I think, “Why have I never put these things together before?!”

Luckily the base for this dish is made with ingredients that most people have in their kitchen: olive oil, garlic and red chili flakes. In the last year, goat cheese has also earned a permanent spot in my fridge. I put it on toast under fried eggs. I put it in omelettes. I eat it with crackers. I eat it with fresh arugula for a simple salad. And here, mixing it in at the last minute with starchy pasta water creates a creamy, tangy emulsification of deliciousness. The somewhat flamboyant addition of guanciale just takes this dish to the next level (and can be skipped if you are vegetarian, because the dish stands perfectly well on it’s own without it).

Goat Cheese & Guanciale Aglio e Olio

Serves 2

  • 2-3 tbsps extra virgin olive oil

  • 4 small/med or 2 large garlic cloves, minced or pressed

  • 1 large pinch red pepper flakes, or to your taste

  • 1 tsp pink Himalayan sea salt, or whichever salt you have on hand

  • Shaved broccoli stalk, approx. 1/4 cup (1-2 large stalks)

  • 1/2 large green zucchini, diced

  • 1/2 large yellow squash, diced

  • 2 cups organic vegetable stock (if you have the time to make your own, do it!)

  • 1/2 cup water

  • 1 cup whole wheat or gluten free pasta, Chiocciole if you can find it, otherwise shells or rigatoni work too (something that will hold all that delicious broth)

  • Sprinkle of black pepper

  • Parmigiano reggiano for garnish

 

You will start by shaving the broccoli stalk with the medium, teardrop shaped holes on your box grater. It will be important to play around here with the angle at which you run the stalk down the grater. I've found that at certain angles, I could dig further into the hard exterior of the stalk, with the grating eventually becoming easier as I got to the somewhat softer interior.

Once you've grated roughly 1/4 cup worth of stalk , place it off to the side.  Next, dice the yellow and green zucchini.  Once these two elements are prepped, you are ready to get going.  Heat two to three tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in a saucepan, just to the point of shimmering.  When the olive oil is ready, use a garlic press to press in 2 large garlic cloves, or 4 small ones.  If you don't have a garlic press, you can also mince your garlic ahead of time.  Once the garlic is in the pot, let it turn slightly golden, but be careful not to burn it.  I've occasionally let my stainless steel pot get too hot too quickly, and the pressed garlic burnt almost immediately, which I can assure you does not taste good. 

At this point, throw in your shaved broccoli stalk, zucchini, red pepper flakes, and salt, and let it all cook down.  After about 10 minutes, add the broth and water.  Sprinkle a little black pepper into the pot and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, add the pasta, and then turn the heat down to medium to a gentle simmer.  The timing instructions on the box may not help you here (it may take longer) but cooking the pasta in the broth makes the broth more rich and magical.  Check the doneness of the pasta occasionally, so as not to overcook it.  Once the pasta is to the doneness of your liking (I always prefer it al dente), it's time to serve.  The only thing left for you to do now is spoon equal parts broth and pasta into a bowl, sprinkle with a little black pepper and LOTS of fresh parmigiano.