During the week, no one has time to spend hours cooking dinner. This recipe is so quick, that you should be able to prepare everything in the time it takes for the water to boil and the pasta to cook. This recipe below can easily feed a family of four that is full of vitamins from the kale, and protein from the goat cheese and almonds. Plus, it’s likely that you will have almost everything already in your fridge.
In this dish, I used two things you don’t typically consider buying locally in Northern Michigan: Pasta and Canola Oil. In 2008, Grand Traverse Culinary Oils and Flours originally started out as a farm growing oil seeds for biodiesel production. Over time, Bill Koucky, the proprietor, realized the need for local non-GMO cooking oils in our area. As his canola and sunflower oils grew in popularity, Koucky also began successfully growing red hard spring wheat and emmer in Leelanau County. Now, his business has grown to not only cover oils, but also flours and pasta.
Grand Traverse Culinary Oils has become easy to find in the nearest grocery store or Traverse City Farmers market. It’s exciting for me to incorporate these local products into my pantry, knowing exactly where they came. Also, these high quality products make great local gifts and come in a variety of flavors. For example, GT Culinary Oils offers many herbed versions of their oils, kale and beet fettuccini, and different types of flours.
Creamy Goat Cheese Pasta with Toasted Almonds
1/2 cup slivered almonds
2 tbsp Grand Traverse Culinary Oils Canola Oil
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 medium sized yellow onion, diced
1 tsp red pepper flakes
Juice of one lemon
1 bunch purple kale from Second Spring Farm, de-stemmed and chopped
1 10oz package of Grand Traverse Culinary Oils Red Hard Spring Wheat Fettuccini
5oz of Country Winds Creamery Plain Goat Cheese
In a small sauté pan, put on medium heat and add slivered almonds. Once they smell toasted and are slightly tan, you can set them aside in a small bowl.
Put 2 quarts of water on to boil and salt accordingly. Once the water is boiling, drop in the pasta and let cook for about 3 minutes. Strain.
Begin heating up your big sauté pan with some oil. Add in your minced garlic and diced onion. Cook until soft. Add in the red pepper flakes and the chopped kale. Keep cooking until kale is soft and wilted. Pour in the lemon juice. Toss in your pasta and scoop in you goat cheese until everything is mixed and creamy. Serve in bowls and top with toasted almonds. Bon appétit!
