Gorgonzola Pasta with Pine Nuts

16 May 2023 - By Michelle Minnaar
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A deliciously simple pasta dish with lots of flavour, gorgonzola pasta is a wonderful option for a midweek lunch or a quick and tasty evening meal. Incredibly easy to make and hard not to fall head over heels in love with, this is one creamy pasta recipe that you'll want to master.

gorgonzola pasta in a blue bowl with fork and spoon.

With the creamy gorgonzola sauce, the crunchy pine nuts, the richness of the grated parmesan and white wine and the soft crunch of the al dente pasta, this recipe has everything you could want in a simple pasta dish.

Why you'll love this recipe

Creamy pasta dishes don't come much better than this recipe.
It's a very easy recipe.
The cream sauce is rich and delicious, with so many great flavours. If you're a blue cheese lover you'll be in heaven!
You can easily adapt this recipe to suit your tastes.

Equipment you'll need to make this recipe

There are a few key items you'll need before you start making this gorgonzola pasta recipe:

Frying pan – a small frying pan is needed to toast your pine nuts.
Large pan – you'll need a large pot to cook up all the wonderful ingredients that will form the base of this pasta dish. I recommend going with a heavy-bottom cast iron pan.
Pasta tongs – if you're using a long form of pasta, it can be difficult to remove it from the pan without making a mess. That's when pasta tongs come in handy!

How to make gorgonzola pasta

Toast the pine nuts. Set aside.

Boil the pasta according to package instructions. Drain. Set aside.

Fry the shallots in butter until softened.

Add the wine, let it sizzle until the liquid has reduced by half. Then add the stock and let it bubble for a few minutes.

Stir in the cream.

Melt chunks of blue cheese in the sauce.

Stir the grated Parmesan cheese into the sauce.

Mix the past and sauce together.

Sprinkle with toasted pine nuts and finely chopped parsley.

Give it a stir and serve immediately. Enjoy!

What to serve with gorgonzola pasta

Sides

Green salad

A fresh green salad makes for an excellent pairing with pasta – particularly the creamy kind of pasta that really benefits from a light, refreshing side. Try an antipasto salad, French bean tomato and pistachio salad, pumpkin and beetroot salad or a rocket salad, all of which would be absolutely delicious when served alongside gorgonzola pasta.

Bread

Fancy a hearty meal – full Italian style? Pasta and bread does sound like a carb on carb nightmare for some, but if you feel like going all out and indulging, a side of fresh crunchy bread is hard to beat. Regular garlic bread, cheesy garlic bread or pesto stuffed bread are all great options.

Try my homemade chia bread for a lighter alternative.

Wine pairing

With a heavy, creamy pasta dish, you want a wine that can cut through the creaminess while complementing the richness of flavors. I recommend an Italian or German Riesling, or an Italian Pinot Grigio.

Dessert

Italian cooking got you in the mood for an Italian dessert? You can't go wrong with a cannoli. Or you could go all out and plump for a limoncello cheesecake!

For something on the lighter side, go for some zesty lemon drizzle cupcakes.

Variations to this recipe

This recipe is adaptable – you can use any type of pasta you prefer. The likes of penne pasta, tortellini, tagliatelle, spaghetti and fettuccini are ideal.
Get creative with your cheese choices – gorgonzola is delicious, but you can use any other type of blue cheese can be used to make the sauce, such as stilton, roquefort, or cambozola.
Add fresh spinach at the same time as the parmesan for extra green goodness. You can also use frozen spinach – just make sure you thaw it or you'll end up with a watery cheese sauce.
You can add any other variety of vegetables to this pasta dish. Options include cherry tomatoes, asparagus, broccoli, broad beans and peas.
You can also add black olives – they complement the flavour of gorgonzola pasta sauce perfectly.

Popular substitutions

Not a fan of pine nuts or can't get hold of them? No worries. There are plenty of good alternatives that you can use. Chopped walnuts, for example, make an excellent substitute for pine nuts, as do cashews, almonds and pistachios. For extra crunch, you can also toast them before cooking starts.
Feel free to omit the butter in place of olive oil if you prefer your pasta sauces a little less less creamy.
You can replace the shallots with white onions or red onions. You could even add spring onions later on in the cooking process if you prefer.
I've gone with parsley as the herb of choice for this dish, but feel free to use thyme, oregano, basil, sage or something similar.
Add chicken to the pasta if you fancy a meatier dish.
If you can't get hold of parmigiano reggiano, mature cheddar cheese is a decent substitute.

pasta in a blue bowl with a salad side dish.

Top tips

Remember to reserve some pasta water when you drain the pasta. You can use it to thicken the creamy sauce out if need be. It also helps the sauce to stick to the pasta.
Don't forget to slightly toast the pine nuts at the start of the recipe. The wonderful nutty crunch brings an extra dimension to this recipe.

What is gorgonzola?

It's a strong cheese from the northern Italian regions of Piedmont and Lombardy. Made from unskimmed cow's milk, gorgonzola is one of Italy's most famous cheeses and one of the oldest types of blue cheese in the world.

Gorgonzola is so old that nobody knows its exact origins. Cheesemakers make this pungent cheese by adding Penicillium. Then, as the cheese matures, the Penicillium produces the iconic blue and green veins in the cheese.

When gorgonzola is young, it's soft and creamy with a hint of acidity. As it matures, it takes on a more crumbly, firm texture and a strong piquant taste that can totally transform dishes.

How do you store gorgonzola pasta?

Gorgonzola pasta should be stored in an airtight container in the fridge. When stored this way, it should last for 3-4 days.

Can you freeze gorgonzola pasta?

It's not a great idea. If you freeze gorgonzola pasta, the cheese sauce will lose its smooth silky texture. You'll also lose the wonderful richness of the dish.

How many people does this dish serve?

This gorgonzola recipe serves four people, although it can easily be adapted to serve less. Simply halve the ingredients below if you are cooking for two.

Of course, if you're cooking for a large dinner party, you can also scale this recipe up by doubling the ingredients below.

What wine should I use for this recipe?

Any decent medium bodied white wine is fine. Cooking wine shouldn't be really cheap – it should be good enough to drink, otherwise don't cook with it. Having said that, don't use an expensive bottle of wine to cook with... save it for drinking!

A Pinot Grigio or Riesling are both ideal white wine choices.

More delicious pasta recipes

Fancy whipping up some more midweek pasta sensations? I've got some delicious inspiration for you:

Chicken and leek pasta bake – another super simple pasta bake that’s ideal as a healthy, easy meal during a busy week. The flavours are simple yet work so well together
Sausage pasta bake – it doesn't get simpler nor more deliciously comforting than this. An incredibly satisfying one tray wonder, once you've got the hang of this sausage bake recipe you'll want to make it again and again.
Chicken pesto pasta – with a fresh and fabulous flavor, this easy chicken pasta dish is a great recipe choice all year round.
Gluten free spaghetti bolognese – rich, tasty and super easy to make, this gluten free recipe is perfect for those who are fed up with feeling bloated after eating pasta.
Cajun chicken pasta – chicken pasta with a difference! The sensational smoky flavors of this dish make it a memory meal. Plus, it's extremely quick to make from start to finish.

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