This Boursin Cheese Pasta is snappy and totally heavenly. It requires not many fixings and couldn’t be simpler to make!
In case you’re searching for an approach to turn the exemplary Boursin ‘Garlic and Fine Herbs’ Cheese into some different option from a pardon to eat an entire bunch of saltines, you’re going to LOVE this pasta.
While you can simply dissolve the Boursin straight into container to make the sauce, you’ll notice it drys up VERY rapidly and goes clumpy. Presenting your new closest companion –
Bland Pasta Water
By adding a portion of the water your pasta is cooked in, you’ll emulsify the fats in the sauce and help make a rich surface. It disperses the cheddar enough to make a sauce, however less it goes watery.
Ingredients:
- 7oz / 200g Linguine, or pasta of choice
- 1x 5oz/150g pack of Boursin Cheese, roughly diced
- 3.5oz / 100g Smoked Sausage (see notes for subs)
- 1/4 cup / 20g freshly grated Parmesan
- 1 Shallot, very finely diced
- 1 tbsp Unsalted Butter
- Salt & Black Pepper, as needed
Instructions:
- Pop your pasta in salted boiling water and cook until al dente. Don’t overfill the pot, only use enough water to cook the pasta (less water the more starchy it is).
- Meanwhile, fry shallots in 1 tbsp unsalted butter until soft, then push to the outside of the pan and add in the sausage. Fry until lightly browned, then incorporate everything together.
- Right near the end of cooking the pasta, scoop out a cup of the starchy pasta water. Add around 1/3 cup into the pan and stir to emulsify with the fats (it should go slightly cloudy). Stir in Boursin cheese until melted, then add parmesan and pinch of black pepper. Stir to blend, then turn heat to low.
- Use your pasta tongs to transfer the pasta straight from the pot into the sauce. Give everything a good toss until the sauce begins to coat the pasta. If the sauce drys up, add a splash more starchy pasta water. On the other hand if you go slightly overboard just keep it on a low heat and gently toss until the sauce wraps around the pasta.
Notes:
- Starchy Water – Important to scoop the water right at the end, just so it’s at its starchiest. The starchier the water, the creamier the sauce.
- Salt – Boursin and the parmesan tend to be fairly salty, so I recommend going easy with extra salt. But just work to preference. A good pinch of black pepper works nicely.
- Smoked Sausage Subs – You can really use any filling you fancy, just keep it to the same amount (around 3.5oz/100g). Bacon, Leftover Chicken, Mushrooms and Spinach all work well!
- Leftovers – As the pasta rests the sauce with thicken again, so I recommend reheating any leftovers in a pan over low heat with a splash of milk to loosen the sauce up again.
- Calories – per portion (shared between two people).
