Dinner Tonight: Rotini w/ Vegetables and Brie Cheese

More likely than not you eat pasta on a regular basis. It's okay to admit it you are not alone. Also more likely than not you enjoy your pasta with tomato sauce. This is also not a crime as most people do as well. I find it hard to get excited about pasta and tomato sauce though, because this is something I have been eating my whole life. In this recipe I tried to spruce up the everyday favorite with vegetables and Brie Cheese. Yes I know adding a French cheese to a pasta dish might sound odd but the brie melts then coats the pasta giving it a well needed kick that you will enjoy.

7 Oz. Whole Wheat Rotini

Approx 5 oz Brie Cheese
4 Oz. Tomato Sauce
7 Asparagus Spears, trimmed cut into 2" pieces
1 Bell Pepper chopped
2 cloves garlic chopped
6 Cherry Tomatoes halved
5 larges basil leaves torn
Juice of half a lemon
3 oz white wine
2 tablespoons olive oil
Dash red pepper flakes(optional)
Salt and Pepper to taste


Cook pasta as directed and set aside. Heat up the olive oil in a large hot skillet and add the chopped garlic and pepper flakes. Cook for about two minutes making sure you don't burn the garlic. Add the pepper and the asparagus. Cook for one minute stirring once or twice. Stir in tomato sauce,wine and lemon juice. Cover and cook for 3 minutes over medium heat. Remove cover and add pasta. Stir the pasta once to cover it in sauce. Now the Brie is a very soft cheese and it is hard to slice Removed the rind of the cheese and with your fingers pull off small clumps of cheese, about one inch in size. Spread to pieces of cheese over the pasta evenly. Add the cherry tomatoes and cover letting the cheese melt about a minute or two. Remove cover and stir so the melted cheese coats the pasta. Salt and pepper to taste and tear the basil leaves over the pasta and serve. 2-3 servings




Tips:

* Use any pasta you like but I recommend the Rontini or perhaps a Fussili. You want a pasta with a lot of crevicesfor the cheesy sauce to get stuck into.

*Shave about two minutes off the cooking time of the pasta for it will continue to cook while it's in the skillet.