RECIPE - Pasta with Gorgonzola and Walnuts

This is one of the easiest recipes EVER so I'm going to use a bit of space having a nice ramble about how it came about.

Last year, we went to Sardinia for a late summer holiday. It rained. And rained. And rained. This is the view from our hotel room:

However, one evening the sun came out and we decided to wander into the village to visit the "Festival of Love" we'd seen advertised. It turned out to be a line of stalls selling such romantic items as plant pots, tattoo removal and apricot jam, and that most romantic of all items, the vacuum cleaner.

So, that occupied us for a good five minutes and we decided we would make the most of the unaccustomed sunshine to sit outside a café with a glass of wine. Along with the wine came a very generous helping of nuts, local breads and olives,  and we started to feel so relaxed and content that we ordered a second glass, and this time were brought a very generous selection of local charcuterie and cheeses.  By the time we'd demolished those, the evening diners were starting to arrive and the food they were ordering looked and smelled so good we decided to ask for the menu and make an evening of it.

That's where I spotted this dish and had to try it - local "trofie" pasta with Gorgonzola and Walnuts. When we got home I tried to recreate the dish and came up with this delicious recipe. I don't know whether it is exactly how the original was made, but we love it.

I use trofie pasta from an Italian deli, but any short pasta that would mop up the sauce such as spirals or penne would work beautifully.

To serve 2

150g pasta of your choice
100g Gorgonzola cheese, diced (look for the stronger, piccante, variety, not the milder dolce one)
75 g coarsely chopped walnuts
100ml double cream
1 tsp oil of your choice - I used light olive oil

Cook the pasta until al dente. In a small frying pan, heat the oil over medium to high heat and toss the walnuts in it, stirring constantly for 1-2 minutes until lightly toasted. Reduce the heat to low, add the cheese and cream and stir gently until the cheese is melted and blended with the cream. Serve with the pasta.

Yep, that's all there is to it - and it is delicious!