We eat pasta quite often. Most of the time, it’s light with some lemon and fresh herbs. This particular Orecchiette pasta dish has bold flavors from the goat cheese. The mild tangy taste from the cheese with fresh sage balances quite pleasantly. The flavor of goat cheese can be sensitive to certain taste buds. So, if you are trying goat cheese for the first time, I would suggest try a good brand. And start with a variety that doesn’t have overpowering flavor.
There are wide varieties of goat cheese available. I used Chabichou Du Poitou for this dish. This cheese is smooth to the palate with a mild acidic salty taste. The wrinkly edible rind is just so beautiful. As you cut the log, you see two more layers with the core being shiny white. It’s amazing to see three different textures in one log of goat cheese, all naturally formed as the cheese matured with time. I used all the three layers in making the sauce for the pasta and the shape of orecchiette pasta is just perfect to hold the sauce together.
I created this dish in collaboration with The Original Chèvre, goat cheese of France. France is the number 1 producer of pure goat cheese in the world with 110,000 tons (over 242 million pounds) produced in 2011. In French, Chèvre means goat and farmers have been using fresh goat’s milk to make cheese referred to as chèvre for centuries. With over 3,000 goat cheese produces and 60 dairy companies in France, The Original Chèvre is well known for its variety.
