Ingredients
1 lb rotini pasta noodles cooked to al dente
1 cup Half and Half
½ cup reserve pasta water
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1 Shallot, finely diced
2 tablespoons Sundried tomato pesto
1 cup Marinara
4 oz Fresh goat cheese, sliced into medallions with a cheese wire
14 - 16 Grape Tomatoes poked with a toothpick
4 oz Button Mushrooms
4 oz sliced Black olives
2 tablespoons Olive oil
2 tablespoons Butter
2 oz Manchego cheese
¼ English Cucumber, sliced into half disks
Sea salt to taste
Freshly cracked pepper to taste
Fresh oregano leaves
Fresh basil leaves
Directions
Step 1
Cook the pasta noodles according to the package instructions for al dente. Toss with a drizzle of olive oil and keep 1/2 cup of the pasta water for the sauce.
Step 2
Blister the tomatoes, mushrooms, and black olives by tossing them with olive oil and sea salt/pepper on a baking sheet and place under your oven broiler for 12-15 minutes or until the tomatoes "blister" up and start to lightly brown and shrivel. Set aside while you prepare the rest of the pasta.
Step 3
Slice the Manchego cheese and the cucumbers and set aside.
Step 4
To prepare the sauce simply melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a medium sized pan on the stove over medium-low heat. Add the chopped garlic, and the diced shallot and cook for about one minute.
Step 5
Add the sundried tomato paste and cook for another minute.
Step 6
Add the half and half and the pasta water. Stir to combine well, season with salt and pepper and let simmer for 5 minutes.
Step 7
Add the rotini noodles and toss with the sauce, topping it with the manchego, cucumbers, blistered tomato-mushroom-olive mixture, the goat cheese medallions, olive oil drizzle, fresh herbs and sea salt/pepper to taste.
