At times you just need a few handfuls of thoughtful ingredients to make a satisfying recipe. Yes! Not every food has to be complicated to be sublime. Such is this recipe of arugula and goat cheese salad. It’s extremely simple to make with a very few ingredients going in and the end result is a bowl bursting with flavors.

There is nothing fancy about this recipe. You just need some fresh ingredients that will go into this salad and it takes not more than 15 minutes to bring this salad on the table. You start with boiling the pasta. For this salad its essential you pick a pasta shape that will allow the sauce to cling to it. I have used fusilli here. Once the pasta is done cooking, we just need to add a few additional ingredients to it. I went ahead and put some sweet heirloom tomatoes to get the juicy burst of sweetness when you pop it. I also threw in some roasted bell peppers for that added crunch and flavor but you can totally skip it. Next comes in the arugula. As I have mentioned in my previous posts too that I am addicted to this green. Its loaded with all the good-for-you nutrients. Its full of fiber, folate, protein, antioxidants and a very good source of  Vitamin A,C and K. Adding arugula to this salad gives it a lively and peppery bite. Another key ingredient for this salad is the goat cheese. The creamy pasta sauce comes entirely from the goat cheese itself as it melts into the warm pasta. Also its very important that you splash some lemon juice as it adds life to the salad. This pasta salad is nothing less than simplicity served in a bowl.

This dish is perfect to make ahead and it sits very good at room temperature. It packs very well for lunches too. And of course it has a boat load of goat cheese in it, which just means that its really amazing!

The given recipe yields about 3 servings.

Ingredients

• 8 oz who wheat fusilli
• 3 cups fresh arugula leaves
• 1 pint heirloom tomatoes
• 1/2 cup roasted red bell peppers, diced
• 3.5 oz crumbled goat cheese
• 2 tablespoon lemon juice
• salt & pepper as per taste

Instructions

• To cook the pasta, bring a large pot of water to boil. Add a pinch of salt and a tablespoon of olive oil to it. Add the pasta and boil until al dente.
• Drain the pasta and pour into a mixing bowl.
• Add the arugula leaves, heirloom tomatoes, roasted bell peppers, goat cheese, lemon juice, salt and pepper to the pasta.
• Give it a nice toss. Adjust the amount of lemon juice, salt and pepper as per your taste.
• Serve as a side or a main dish!