Penne with spinach and Gorgonzola
This recipe has been a longtime favorite for evenings when you come home ‘hangry’ and impatient after a long day at work. It doesn’t need much planning if you keep a little stock of Gorgonzola chees and frozen spinach. If you have a microwave it just take a few minutes to prepare and you can enjoy a glass of wine while waiting for the pasta to get al dente. But even if you cook the sauce on the stove, not much concentration is needed to make this simple dish a big success.
Ingredients
- 500g pasta (penne rigate)
- 200g Gorgonzola
- 250-400ml cream
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 400g spinach (fresh in whole leaves, or deep frozen in whole leaves)
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (for example from il circolo)
- Parmesan cheese (to sprinkle, ca. 50g)
- Salt
- Pepper
Method
- Defrost the spinach, or wash and briefly cook for 2 minutes the fresh spinach.
- Heat a big pot with water on the stove, add plenty of salt (2 – 3 tablespoons) and cook the pasta according to the instructions (al dente).
- In the microwave: Sprinkle the olive oil in a heat resistant bowl of approximately 25 x20x8cm. Spread spinach and add on top Gorgonzola (in small pieces), finely chopped garlic, salt and pepper, and add cream (possibly add a little more or some milk if the bottom of the entire form is not slightly covered). Cover the bowl with (microwave resistant) plastic wrap. Cook in the microwave on highest level for 15 minutes, then carefully mix. If not well cooked, put back into the microwave for another 5 – 10 minutes.
- On the stove: Heat olive oil and cream, and add small pieces of Gorgonzola. Stir until the cheese is melted. Add finely chopped garlic, salt and pepper, possibly add a little more cream or some milk to prevent sauce from thickening too much. Add the spinach and cook for some minutes until the spinach is done.
- Mix sauce with the pasta.
- Serve with some parmesan cheese to sprinkle, and freshly ground pepper.
Tips
- If you use fresh spinach, you can cook it in the pot you later use for the pasta. Use a skimmer to remove the spinach from the pot before adding the pasta.
