Delicious tagliatelle pasta coated in a creamy blue cheese and spinach sauce and ready in the time it takes to cook pasta – perfect for busy midweek evenings!
I have been an Italophile for as long as I can remember…I absolutely love the Italian language, the country, the architecture, the weather and of course the food! In fact my love of Italy went so far that I married an Italian man…well ok Mr G is only one eighth Italian but it was the best I could do 😉
But I do really love my Italian surname and I was even more excited to discover that Gargano is actually a region of Italy (it’s the little sticky out bit just above the heel) – it looks beautiful and I really, really want to visit one day.
So anyway, we were out one day in a nearby town in Sussex, where they just happened to have an Italian market. Well, like most foodies I always make a beeline for markets, I just love them! This one was fab, full of delicious Italian breads, cheeses, olives and other antipasti…I could have stayed there all day and spent a fortune! Browsing around we discovered Gargano pasta – this was beyond exciting and I just had to buy some!
Well, this was a few weeks ago and like many of my foodie purchases it languished in the cupboard for quite a while waiting for me to dream up something delicious with it…then we went away on holiday and I cooked a lot of pasta on holiday, as it’s so quick and simple, and so I was reminded of a great easy peasy pasta recipe I haven’t done for ages. It’s one of those wonderful recipes which is done in the time it takes to cook pasta – great for super busy days!
Pasta with Spinach and Blue Cheese Sauce used to be quite a favourite, but I haven’t made it in AGES! But now I have rediscovered it I will definitely be making it again…and soon! The sauce is so simple garlic, crème fraiche (or you could use cream), blue cheese and spinach, plus a good grinding of black pepper and a splash of pasta cooking water…if you’re feeling decadent you could even throw on a few walnuts, but it’s not essential.
I’ve kept the blue cheese flavour quite light here as I was making this pasta dish for my children too, who are not the biggest blue cheese fans in the world – I used a little 70g mini portion of Tesco Stilton, but if you are a blue cheese fan then by all means increase the quantity. If I was making this just for me and Mr G I would have put in about twice that amount! And pretty much any blue cheese will work, I’ve used Stilton in this version, but in the past I’ve tried Roquefort and Gorgonzola too – Gorgonzola is particularly good as it is so creamy and of course fits well with the Italian theme!
If blue cheese is not your thing, you could easily swap it for another kind of cheese you like – goat’s cheese works well too, or Boursin or just leave it out altogether. And if you’re not a fan of spinach, you could swap it for roasted butternut squash which is just fabulous…leeks also work very well, but sweat them in butter first before adding in the crème fraiche and cheese.
This dish really does need a white wine…blue cheese and red wine just doesn’t work for me (unless that red wine happens to be sweet – like port!). A crisp Italian white such as Soave, Gavi or Verdicchio would work well here, or else a light, crisp Chardonnay or even a Pinot Grigio would all be fab choices.
Gargano Pasta with Spinach and Blue Cheese Sauce
Ingredients
- 250 g taglietelle or another pasta shape of your choosing
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic sliced
- 150 ml crème fraiche or cream
- 70 g blue cheese such as Stilton, Gorgonzola or Roquefort (increase the quantity to 150g if you love blue cheese!), crumbled
- Black pepper to taste
- 100 g baby spinach
- A handful of chopped walnuts for garnish optional
Method
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Cook the pasta for 10 minutes according to packet instructions/your own preferences. Drain retaining a little of the cooking water.
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Meanwhile put the olive oil and garlic in a medium sized pan and cook very gently for about 2 minutes until the garlic is softened but not brown. Do not allow the garlic to burn!
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Add the crème fraiche to the garlic pan and bring to a gentle bubble.
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Add the crumbled blue cheese and plenty of black pepper and stir to combine.
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When the blue cheese has melted add the spinach and drained pasta and stir everything together until the spinach has just wilted. Add a little of the pasta water to loosen the sauce and make it extra creamy.
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Serve just as it is or with a scattering of chopped walnuts and a glass of crisp white wine!
Pin Gargano Pasta with Spinach and Blue Cheese Sauce for later
Hahaha, how exciting to come across pasta carrying your family name – I think I would have been beyond excited to have come across it. I love what you’ve made with it too, it looks absolutely gorgeous, but I have to admit that I’m never too sure about blue cheese – I thoroughly enjoy it in a spinach & blue cheese open tart which a local vegi cafe makes (though it’s probably more spinach than blue cheese) but I really can’t stand it when it’s on a cheese board, (I know, fussy!).
Angela x
Haha – it was pretty exciting! If you are OK with a blue cheese and spinach quiche, you would probably like this – the blue cheese flavour is pretty mild, but you could always substitute for goat’s cheese, if you’d prefer. Thanks for your lovely comments. 🙂 Eb x
I’ve not heard of the Gargano region before, you should definitely visit sometime (and then write about it so the rest of us know whether we should go too!).
I love the sound of this sauce, blue cheese makes such a lovely pasta sauce doesn’t it.
I’m so envious of all of your wine knowledge, I wish I knew a lot more. Where did you learn?
I really should, shouldn’t I? If I do I will certainly write about it on my blog!! I used to work in the wine industry (Averys of Bristol, then Waitrose) and did about a zillion wine exams!! The exams are run by the Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET). They do courses at all levels from beginner to pro – You can check them out at http://www.wsetglobal.com Thank you for your lovely kind comments 🙂 Eb x
How exciting to discover a pasta with your name on it! This looks absolutely gorgeous. No idea whether my kids would go for blue cheese and I’d have to pretend the spinach was basil (!) but I might give this one a go soon. Thanks for linking up with #CookBlogShare
Haha – I love the idea of pretending spinach is basil – would they fall for it do you think? Better use baby spinach! I think the trick with blue cheese is not too much and don’t tell them. I put a small amount in and I don’t think they could tell and seemed to quite like it, but I know if I had told them they would have gone ‘er yuk!’. Do let me know how it goes if you try it! Eb x
OMG I am loving this!! I love the fact that you have also married an Italian! Me too! Haha. I will definitely have to try this one. And how cool that you found that pasta! xxx
Haha – Italian men are the best, right? 😉 I know – I was very excited at that particular foodie find – really MUST visit the region of Gargano one day!!! Thanks for your kind words. Eb x
I love cheese and spinach sauce on pasta although I usually make it with a roux so this version would be much easier. I definitely have to try it. Thanks for entering it into Meat Free Mondays. I featured your recipe and stumbled, pinned, yummed & tweeted.
Oooh interesting, I would normally make cheese sauce for say a lasagne or macaroni cheese using a roux, but have always made this blue cheese sauce with creme fraiche, or sometimes cream. Yes it does make things very easy peasy, but now you’ve got me thinking about making macaroni cheese with creme fraiche…might just have to try that! Thanks for your lovely comments and for the inspiration! 🙂 Eb x
Easy peasy for sure and really delicious too! I love spinach and adore blue cheese (the stronger the better) so this is right up my street….
Love that you found pasta with your name on it…. I too have a whole bunch of Italian in me and grew up on pasta, and other Mediterranean delights. I think there are lots of us about!! xx
Aw, thanks Kate…I am a huge blue cheese fan so if I had been eating this on my own I would have added in a lot more blue cheese…but I’m not sure the kiddies would have been too impressed!! I was seriously chuffed finding the Gargano pasta…It’s a whole region so there are probably lots of Gargano products…really should visit one day and find out! Eb x