Description
Mediterranean fusion pasta featuring boursin cheese baked to creamy perfection combines Italian and French culinary traditions. Cheese melts into a luxurious sauce that brings comfort and excitement to your dinner table.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 box (5.2 oz / 147 g) Boursin garlic & fine herbs cheese
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese (optional)
- 10 oz (283 g) pasta (penne, rigatoni, or fusilli)
- 2 pints cherry or grape tomatoes
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tbsps olive oil
- ¼ cup fresh basil, chopped
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes (optional, for heat)
- ½ cup reserved pasta water
Instructions
- Preparation: Ignite the oven to a blazing 400°F (200°C), priming the kitchen for a gastronomic expedition.
- Tomato Fusion: Spread cherry tomatoes across a 9×13-inch baking vessel, lavishing them with olive oil, minced garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes. Gently tumble the ingredients to ensure an even, flavor-packed coating.
- Cheese Placement: Nestle the Boursin cheese block centrally within the seasoned tomato terrain, positioning it for maximum culinary drama.
- Roasting Ritual: Immerse the dish in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, allowing the ingredients to metamorphose and intertwine, creating a symphony of flavors.
- Sauce Transformation: Extract the dish when the cheese begins to liquefy and tomatoes burst dramatically. Aggressively mash the roasted tomatoes, generating a velvety sauce that embraces the molten Boursin.
- Culinary Finale: Cascade the sauce over freshly prepared pasta, garnish with verdant basil, and invite diners to swirl the creamy, vibrant mixture into a mouth-watering masterpiece.
Notes
- Optimize Tomato Selection: Choose ripe, firm cherry tomatoes for the best burst of flavor and juiciness during roasting.
- Control Cheese Melting: Let Boursin cheese sit at room temperature for 15-20 minutes before baking to ensure smooth, even melting.
- Customize Spice Levels: Adjust red pepper flakes based on heat preference, starting with a light sprinkle for mild flavor or increasing for more kick.
- Dietary Adaptations: Swap regular pasta with gluten-free or vegetable noodles like zucchini spirals for low-carb or gluten-sensitive diets.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Lunch, Dinner, Snacks
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 5
- Calories: 435
- Sugar: 6 g
- Sodium: 450 mg
- Fat: 22 g
- Saturated Fat: 7 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 15 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 50 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 12 g
- Cholesterol: 30 mg