Goat Cheese, Arugula and Lemon Pasta

I'm back! Matt and I had a whirlwind weekend with Adrienne, one of my good friends from high school and college, visiting us in NYC for the first time. We packed so much in - had one of the best meals of my life at David Burke Townhouse, a great day in Central Park, ran a glow in the dark 5K at Citi Field, brunch, bagels, shopping, and many late nights in the city. It was so much fun and I still haven't caught up on sleep.

I recently made a very light and flavorful summer dish that didn't require too much heat in the kitchen - no oven required! For this goat cheese, arugula and lemon pasta dish, I only had to cook pasta and peas and put all of the remaining components together. Beware - the recipe is in Dutch so you'll need to use the translate setting. I also had to make some manual conversions from grams to ounces, but this dish can easily use a little more or less of the ingredients based on your liking (I definitely added extra goat cheese because it's soooo good).

I've never been a big cheese person (I know, I know, blasphemy!), but over the past few years, I've come around to enjoying some varieties on their own. Usually I just like cheese that's baked into dishes or masked with other flavors - lasagna, pizza, quesadillas - but I never appreciated it as a star ingredient. I never even ordered cheeseburgers, just the basic beef patty, lettuce, tomatoes and pickles for me. My husband has played a huge part in my conversion to cheese and I have discovered my love for goat cheese, maybe even a bit too much for his liking. This dish makes great use of goat cheese, adding a creamy texture and salty bite.

This dish really balances out between the heartiness of the pasta, the pepper-y kick from the arugula, the fresh pop of the peas, the creamy, salty bite from the goat cheese, and the refreshing hint of citrus from the lemon zest and juice. I highly recommend this dish for an easy-to-make light, summer meal!