Tagliatelle Gorgonzola

Tagliatelle Gorgonzola (vegetarian)

This is the sort of meal you make when you come home late from a weekend away. I hope you’ve been walking in the Dales, surfing in Cornwall or something else active and wonderful, when we’re allowed again.  You’re tired, you still need to unpack and hoover out the car, stuff needs sorting out for the school run tomorrow; but you’ve got to have something warm and soothing in your belly before you can start all that. You can leave the ingredients in the fridge when you go away, knowing they’ll be there waiting for you to rustle this up in an instant.  Yes, it’s blue cheese, which isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but give it a try. Honestly, the blue taste is not at all strong. I won’t lie, it is still there, which gives the dish part of the piquancy. You can adjust the strength of the chilli you use, and of course you can buy different strengths of gorgonzola, so start off with the mildest and work your way up.

You could serve this with a simple green salad, and light French dressing, which you have also left in the fridge over the weekend.

Serves 4. Timings – 20 minutes.

• Tagliatelle – 80g per person is the advised amount, but you might need 400g for 4 of you if it’s been a long drive and a cold sea.
• 250g creamy gorgonzola cheese, rind removed (and eaten, if you’re me)
• 400ml single cream
• 1 medium onion
• 1 red chilli or a teaspoon of chilli flakes
• Small bunch of parsley, chopped

Put the water for the pasta on as you chop the onion and chilli finely.  Using a small heavy pan and a slug of vegetable oil, fry the onion and chilli gently for a few minutes until slightly softened.

Cook the pasta for the recommended time. According to Anna del Conte (I think it was her, one of my food heroes), the water for pasta needs not only to be boiling but to be singing Pavarotti, which is a good way of describing that enthusiastic rolling bubbling panful.

Add the gorgonzola to the onion and chilli, it will start to melt straight away. Add the cream too. Stir to dissolve it all together and don’t let it boil.  Add half the parsley.

When the tagliatelle is done, drain. Keep some of the cooking water, and add a tablespoon or so to the sauce, keeping an eye on the texture – you want a creamy coating sauce, like single cream. Adjust the seasoning – you might need a smidgin of salt, depending on how salty the cheese was.

Mix the sauce into the pasta and serve, topped with a sprinkle of parsley, a slice or two of fresh chilli and a grinding of black pepper.