With just a hint of sweetness and a lusciously creamy texture, gorgonzola dolce steals the show in this quick and simple pasta dish. Tagliatelle with gorgonzola dolce is an adaptation of a recipe that I first encountered many years ago in a pasta making class taught by the lovely Rachel Coyle at the Book Larder in Seattle. (As an aside, no visit to Seattle is presently complete without a pilgrimage to the irresistible pastry case at "Coyle's Bakeshop.") Tagliatelle with gorgonzola dolce has since become one of my go-to recipes for comfort food at its best...quick, easy, and astonishingly delicious.
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Ingredients for Tagliatelle with Gorgonzola Dolce
- unsalted butter
- shallot
- heavy whipping cream
- freshly grated nutmeg
- gorgonzola dolce
- parmesan
- tagliatelle
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Chop the shallot, finely shred the parmesan, and break up the gorgonzola dolce into small bits. (Gorgonzola dolce is quite creamy and therefore doesn't really lend itself to "crumbling", but the goal is just to divide it into smaller pieces for easier melting.)
Heat a wide heavy pan over medium heat. (Choose one that is also deep enough to add all the pasta after it has been cooked.) Melt the butter and add the shallot. Saute until the shallot is fragrant and translucent, about 5 minutes.
Next add the heavy whipping cream to the pan and grate over the nutmeg. Simmer this mixture until the cream becomes noticeably thicker, stirring occasionally. This typically takes about 5 to 10 minutes.
In the meantime, cook the tagliatelle in well salted water, per the package instructions. Reserve about a cup of the pasta cooking water before draining.
After the cream has thickened, turn the heat down to low. Then add the parmesan and gorgonzola dolce. Stir everything together to melt and evenly incorporate the cheese into the cream. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Finally, add the hot pasta to the gorgonzola dolce cream sauce. Stir the noodles well to coat. If the sauce appears to be too thick at this point, stir in a splash of the pasta cooking water.
Serve immediately.
Hint: If you have leftovers, be sure to save the remaining pasta cooking water for use when reheating.
Serving suggestions
- To Garnish - finely chopped flat parsley (if you're feeling formal)
- To Drink - Riesling, Marsala, or some bubbly
Equipment
For this dish, a 3.5 quart enameled cast iron braiser works particularly well. The one pictured here is from Le Creuset.
Storage
Leftovers can be kept in the refrigerator for a day or two and gently reheated over the stove. (It won't be the same as freshly made, but sometimes expediency is the order of the day.) To reheat, place the pan over low heat, pour in a bit of the reserved pasta cooking water, and cover. Occasionally lift the lid to give things a stir and gradually pull the tagliatelle apart, adding more reserved pasta cooking water as necessary to reconstitute the sauce.
📖 Recipe
Tagliatelle with Gorgonzola Dolce
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 medium shallot finely chopped
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 pinch nutmeg freshly grated
- 6 ounces gorgonzola dolce broken into small pieces
- 1 ounce parmesan freshly grated
- 1 pound tagliatelle dried
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- Heat a wide heavy pan over medium heat. (Choose one that is also deep enough to hold all the pasta after it has been cooked.)
- Melt the butter in the pan and add the finely chopped shallot. Saute until the shallot is fragrant and translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add the heavy whipping cream to the pan and grate over the nutmeg. Simmer this mixture until the cream becomes noticeably thicker, stirring occasionally. This typically takes about 5 to 10 minutes.
- In the meantime, cook the tagliatelle in well salted water, per the package instructions. Reserve about a cup of the pasta cooking water before draining.
- Once the cream has thickened, turn the heat down to low. Then add the gorgonzola dolce and the parmesan to the pan. Stir everything together to melt and to evenly incorporate the cheese into the cream mixture. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- After the cheese has been incorporated, add the hot pasta to the pan and stir well to coat with the sauce. (If the sauce appears to be too thick at this point, stir in a splash of the pasta cooking water.) Serve immediately.
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