Who says salads are just for summer? Goat’s cheese, red onion and walnuts work beautifully together in this delicious, warm pasta salad. This salad can be thrown together in less than 30 minutes, making it great for busy work nights or speedy weekend lunches. It tastes great cold too, so make double and pop some in a box to take to work the next day.
Don’t you just love happy accidents? This lovely warm salad is the result of one such happy accident. I found a picture of a pasta salad that I liked in delicious magazine and duly went out and bought all the ingredients. It was only when I came to make the salad, I realised I hadn’t really read the recipe properly at all. I must have looked at the picture and assumed I knew what was in the salad. My ingredients were not at all what was required, so I went ahead and made a salad with the ingredients I did have and it turned out so beautifully I just had to share it on the blog.
The combination of sharp and salty goat’s cheese, earthy nutty walnuts and sweet roasted red onions is just such a fabulous one. The warmth in the pasta and onions makes the goat’s cheese melt a little so it’s all gloopy and oozy and the salad leaves just finish the dish of with a beautiful fresh crunch and a pepperiness from the rocket.
You can use any mixed leaves for this dish but I like to use a mix of rocket, dark red babyleaf, mizuna and spinach I get at Tesco. I love the way the leaves gently wilt in the warmth of the pasta. The salad leaves come in a 90g bag and I only need 50g for the pasta salad, so I like to serve the extra salad leaves in a bowl on the table for people to help themselves to extra. I like to serve it with a glass of Loire Sauvignon Blanc which is just such a perfect match with Chevre goat’s cheese, which also comes from the Loire.
Warm Goat's Cheese, Red Onion and Walnut Pasta Salad (Veggie)
Ingredients
- 1 large red onion cut into 8 wedges (or two small ones)
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 300 g pasta I used fusilli
- 50 g walnut halves
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- Salt and pepper
- 50 g mixed salad leaves I used a mix of rocket, dark red babyleaf, mizuna, and spinach
- 100 g goat's cheese I used Chevre, chopped into small chunks
Method
- Preheat your oven to 180C.
- Chop the red onion into wedges and place in a small roasting tray. Drizzle over 2 tablespoons of olive oil and roast in your preheated oven for 20 minutes until the red onion is tinged with golden brown.
- While the red onions are roasting, cook 300g pasta according to packet instructions / your own preferences. Drain when ready and put back into the saucepan and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, plus some salt and pepper. Stir to coat the pasta evenly.
- After the red onions have been cooking for 15 minutes add the walnuts to the tray and put the roasting tray back in the oven for 5 minutes.
- After the final 5 minutes are up, remove the roasting tray from the oven and tip the red onions and walnuts into the pasta and stir well.
- Tip the pasta into a serving bowl and add the chopped goat's cheese and the salad leaves. Stir well so everything is evenly distributed and to allow the goat's cheese to melt slightly and the salad leaves to gently wilt in the warmth of the pasta.
- Serve the salad in a big bowl in the middle of the table for everyone to help themselves. Put the remaining salad leaves in a separate bowl on the table and serve it all with a zingy, fresh Loire Sauvignon Blanc.
I sometimes think the best recipes come from happy accidents. If you want to check out another of my happy accidents, have a look at my Butternut Squash, Prosciutto and Walnut Pasta – I was trying to follow one of the recipes in Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s Three Good Things
…only I forgot one of the 3 good things…!
Ooh yum! I love warm salads Eb – how the salad leaves gently ‘cook’ from the warmth of the cooked foods is just delicious. We often have a pack of crumbly goats cheese in the fridge, it’s one of our favourites (though perhaps feta wins that battle 😉 ). Will you be re-visiting your food magazine to try their recipe?
Angela x
Warm salads are fab – I really love eating food that is supposed to be warm (as opposed to hot food that’s cooled to lukewarm because I’ve taken so long photographing it!) And yes – that thing when the leaves gently cook in the warmth and the cheese goes oozy – yum! Do you know what – it never occurred to me to go back and actually try the real recipe – I’ve probably lost it in the pile now! (It’s a very tall pile!!) Thanks for your kind comments 🙂 Eb x
I had to chuckle Eb, food that is meant to be hot but become lukewarm through time taken to photograph it is sooo familiar! Mr E saunters off with his hot meal whilst I pretend to be David Bailey 😉
Angela x
I suspect this is a familiar story in most food blogger households! Poor Mr G has to wait until I’ve finished my shoot before he gets his dinner as my ‘studio’ is my dining room table – so we all eat it lukewarm – though I do have a few tricks up my sleeve to reheat things – stews can go back on the hob and veggies/couscous/rice have boiling water poured over them in a sieve. The kids don’t mind, though…they seem to prefer their food a bit cooler! Eb x
This is one of my favourite salads! Quite simply yum! If only I had the ingredients in so I could make it for lunch….! #cookblogshare
Thank you, Nathalie. It is a good one. Make it tomorrow! 🙂 Eb x
Love the combination of goat’s cheese, red onion and walnuts in this.
Thank you – it really is a fab combination 🙂 Eb x
I think this said looks lovely and Im looking forward to giving it a try. The warm butternut squash, harissa and Halloumi salad linked at the bottom looks good too I think I shall be popping back to give your recipes a try very soon
Thank you, Jacqui. The butternut squash, harissa and halloumi salad is amazing – one of the best things I’ve ever made – well worth a try. Would love to hear what you think if you try either of them 🙂 Eb x
Ooooh Eb I adore goats cheese, it really is one of my favourite ingredients and cheeses! This salad looks and sounds amazingly good. This is going straight on my to try list. Thank you for sharing with #CookBlogShare x
I know – goat’s cheese is fab, isn’t it? Thank you for your kind comments – would love to know how you get on if you try it 🙂 Eb x
Ah this looks and sounds right up my street. I could eat salad all year around. I love it! And goats cheese and walnuts…wow. I love happy accidents…they happen a lot round here!
Thank you, Vicki! I know what you mean about goat’s cheese and walnuts – a fab pairing! Eb x
such a great and tasty combination of flavours here and i love that it involves a salad – makes it seem more healthy and me more virtuous if i were to eat it lol!
Thank you! I love salad leaves – I try to fit them in whenever I can – just a shame you can’t fit many of those big puffy bags in the fridge. Gah! Eb x
I love goats cheese and your salad looks lovely. The addition of walnuts will have worked really well. Great accidental salad
Thanks Alison! I do love an accidental salad 🙂 I’ve made quite a few over the years – lots of ‘let’s see what we’ve got in the fridge/cupboard’ type salads in particular 🙂 Eb x
There is something comforting yet also virtuous about a good warm salad. But they just don’t seem the same made with GF pasta….. Hey ho…. Maybe it would be joust as good with warm baby potatoes?! Looks to good to pass up!
Oooh yes – I totally agree about the virtuousness/comforting thing. Shame it doesn’t work with GF pasta 🙁 I can imagine this would work quite well with baby new potatoes or maybe some roast sweet potato? Eb x
I love having happy accidents like this! I like the sound a warm pasta salad with the goats cheese and red onion – sounds delicious!
Thank you! Happy accidents are great, aren’t they? Eb x
P.S. Thank you Corina for writing my 1000th comment! I remember writing my first few blog posts and wondering if anyone would ever comment on any of my posts, now I have 1000 of them! Eb x
Lovely combination, this would be welcome on my table.
Thanks, Sarah! Eb x
I’m quite partial to a salad, love the sound of this 🙂 Thanks for sharing with #CookBlogShare
Thank you! I love salad at any time of the year, but especially now the weather is warming up! Eb x
Hi Eb,
The moment I read about the melting goat cheese, it’s like I was there and I saw it. Oh my, this recipe is so amazing! I love pastas for the reason you stated: they are easy to make and maximum it will take 30 mins. Amazing dish, thank you for sharing!
Zaria
Thank you, Zaria! I know!! Melted goats cheese is sooo good, isn’t it? I’m a huge fan! And it goes just perfectly in this pasta salad. Thanks for stopping by 🙂 Eb x