Pasta with Goat Cheese, Asparagus and Lemon

Pasta with Goat Cheese, Asparagus, and Lemon

I was inspired by this recipe from Bon Appetit.  Their recipe looks great as is, but I only had half of the amount of goat cheese on hand, and no tarragon, so I changed the recipe around a bit to incorporate items that I had and to reduce the fat/ oil content.  This was one of the quickest, easiest, yet still most delicious meals that I've made, and it only used 1 pot.  I think that goat cheese has a super power that turns everything it touches to gold without adding a whole lot of other flavors/ ingredients.  This was even great as leftovers, cold, straight from the fridge, it was so good that I couldn't stop eating it long enough to get the bowl to the microwave to heat it up.

-1 box desired shape of whole wheat pasta
-1 lb asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-2" pieces
-6 oz goat cheese 
-1/2 c vegetable or chicken broth
-1/2 c heavy cream, half and half, or milk
-1/2 tsp salt
-1/2 tsp pepper
-zest of 1 lemon
-(optional) desired chopped fresh herbs (basil, parsley, tarragon, rosemary...)  (I didn't have any on hand so I didn't add any, but it would be a great touch)

In a medium to large pot, cook pasta in salted water, according to package directions.  3 minutes before the pasta will be done, add the asparagus.  Drain the pasta and asparagus.  Add goat cheese, broth, cream, salt, pepper and zest to the pan over low heat.  Stir until all of the goat cheese is melted and the sauce is well mixed.  Remove from heat.  Stir pasta and asparagus into the sauce and add fresh herbs if using.