I get asked all the time how I find the motivation to cook dinner after long days when dinner prep usually starts after 8 p.m. Three secrets.
- I love it. It’s my creative outlet and helps me unwind and feel like I’m doing something to nurture myself.
- A well stocked pantry and fridge.
- Make it easy!
8:30 p.m. on a weeknight is not the time to embark on a complicated, time-consuming recipe. 90% of the time our dinner is on the table in 30 minutes or less.
I was thrilled to learn about a new product from Barilla that seriously helps you get dinner on the table in a hurry. They recently released Barilla Pronto, one-pan pasta that cooks in 10 minutes with no boiling and no draining required.
I used it to create a five ingredient pasta dish that’s ready in 15 minutes and tastes amazing. Each of the ingredients packs a big flavor punch. Creamy and tangy goat cheese serves as the base and “sauce” here and is complimented by salty prosciutto, peppery arugula and flavorful sundried tomatoes.
I started by prepping the pasta. The beautiful thing about Barilla Pronto is that you don’t have to wait for a pot of water to boil. (Seriously, why does it take so long?) You just put the box of pasta in a cold skillet with 3 cups of water, set the heat to high and cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. I used bigger pan than the 12-inch skillet they called for so I found I needed a little extra water but after 10 minutes the pasta was al dente perfection (not mushy at all) and all the water had been absorbed by the pasta.
I added the goat cheese, sundried tomatoes and prosciutto to the pan and stirred it until the cheese was melted and coated the pasta. Note, I used plain goat cheese because it’s what I had on hand and that’s how I cook but a garlic herb would take this to a whole new level!
Prosciutto & Goat Cheese Pasta
After the cheese was all melty and delicious I stirred in the arugula and seasoned the dish generously with salt and freshly ground pepper.
Not bad for a 15 minute dinner, right? Especially with such rich and sophisticated starring ingredients. You can also make this dish with chicken or shrimp and it’s equally as tasty.
Barilla Pronto is available several shapes including spaghetti, linguine, penne, rotini and macaroni. I will definitely be keeping a couple of boxes in the pantry for quick dinner. Check out Barilla’s website for more recipes featuring Barilla Pronto.
Here’s mine!
15-Minute Goat Cheese and Prosciutto Pasta
(recipe created by Jen DeCurtins)
