Weeknight Cooking

Creamy Gorgonzola Farfalle With Apples & Pecans

by:
August 23, 2019
4.5
6 Ratings
Creamy Gorgonzola Farfalle With Apples & Pecans
Photo by Bobbi Lin
  • Prep time 5 minutes
  • Cook time 35 minutes
  • Serves 4
Test Kitchen Notes

Featured in: The Creamy Gorgonzola Pasta My Mom’s Been Making Since the ’50s. —The Editors

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1 pound farfalle
  • 1 quart half-and-half
  • 1/2 pound gorgonzola dolce
  • 1 cup Locatelli Pecorino Romano
  • 1 pinch white pepper
  • 1/2 cup golden raisins
  • 1 tart apple (such as Granny Smith or Honeycrisp)
  • 1/2 cup crushed pecans
  • 1/2 cup fresh parsley leaves, finely chopped
Directions
  1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and season with about a tablespoon of salt. Drop the farfalle into the boiling water and cook per package instructions to al dente.
  2. Meanwhile, make the sauce: Add the half-and-half to another pot or saucepan and set it to a low simmer. Tear off small, easily dissolvable chunks of gorgonzola and add to the half-and-half. Stir softly and occasionally until the cheese melts into the cream completely. (Keep an eye on the sauce throughout the process to make sure it does not get too hot!) Use a slotted spoon or small strainer to skim any undesired bits of blue mold from the cream sauce and discard them.
  3. Add 3/4 cup of Pecorino Romano to the cream sauce and stir to combine. Season with a pinch of white pepper if desired. Add the raisins to the sauce and allow them to plump up while you cut the apple into cubes about the size of the raisins. Strain the pasta and add to the cream sauce and raisins and toss until covered.
  4. Set a dry skillet or saucepan over medium heat, add the pecans, and gently toast them 1 to 2 minutes.
  5. Ladle the pasta into shallow bowls, making sure to distribute the raisins as equally as possible. Evenly scatter the top of each bowl of pasta with the pecans and apples, then garnish with parsley and serve.
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See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • meghan
    meghan
  • FrugalCat
    FrugalCat
  • Annada Rathi
    Annada Rathi
  • Dariusz
    Dariusz
  • Eric Kim
    Eric Kim
Arthur Bovino
Pizza obsessive. Dad chef. Author, Buffalo Everything.

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15 Reviews

meghan
meghan February 23, 2024
The flavors here were great, and I appreciate the author staying true to his mother's recipe. It very much reminded me of my mom's sometimes-questionable pasta experiments in the '90s. However, I think some updates could be made to elevate this dish and bring it into this century:

-The sauce is too thin and if you try to reduce it after adding the cheese, it will curdle. The curdling didn't affect the flavor and honestly, added to the nostalgia factor (lol). But if you want a smooth, creamy sauce, use cream rather than half-and-half, simmer until thickened, then stir in the cheese at the end. Starting with a roux might not hurt here either, tbh?
-I wish I used Gorgonzola Piccante for a more pungent flavor than Dolce. And no need to remove the mold!
-Similarly, black pepper instead of white pepper. I also added a tiny bit of nutmeg.
-Plump the raisins in lemon juice or vinegar, then toss in at the end with the apples & pecans.
-I didn't think parsley went with the other flavors in the dish and would omit next time.
-With all the sweet ingredients, I thought it needed something bitter to balance it out. I ended up quickly sauteeing some radicchio with a dash of balsamic vinegar, and that was the perfect addition!

Even with the technique falling apart a little bit, I would definitely make a version of this again. I bet it would taste good as a pasta salad, too!
 
Dariusz
Dariusz March 7, 2024
I made the dish with your suggestions to the recipe and it turned out really nice. Creamy, cheesy, nutty, slightly sweet. A pleasant and interesting dish.
 
FrugalCat
FrugalCat June 11, 2020
Wonderful recipe. I made it with walnuts. Granny Smith apple is perfect for the blue cheese.
 
Renee B.
Renee B. October 19, 2019
This would be a great dish for the vegetarians in my book club—but I'm not a gorgonzola fan. I'm considering using feta instead. Thoughts? Do you have other cheese substitute suggestions?
 
BeaBrown
BeaBrown October 21, 2019
Feta doesn't melt as well as gorgonzola. Have you considered a raclette?
 
Renee B.
Renee B. October 24, 2019
Never heard of it but will check the local cheese monger about raclette and other alternatives.
 
BeaBrown
BeaBrown September 16, 2019
I am definitely going to cook this. I'm not a raisin fan, but will substitute colorful dried (perhaps soaked in something like a vino) cranberries and report back as to how it goes. Thanks.
 
Bryeny
Bryeny September 8, 2019
Couple of things:
- I see only 3/4 of the cup of pec romano going into the dish. Did you mean to include the last 1/4 cup in the toppings in step 4?
- It would be clearer to say in the ingredients that the pec romano needs to be grated.

This looks delicious - definitely trying it!
 
mavery81230
mavery81230 September 8, 2019
You're right, the other 1/4 cup of romano is never mentioned! I just added the whole cup to the sauce, which might be why my sauce was nice and thick even with half and half.
 
mavery81230
mavery81230 September 1, 2019
It is amusing how specific Arthur is about some ingredients, such as Gorgonzola Dolce and Locatelli Pecorino Romano, but less so about other ingredients "A tart apple, such as a Granny Smith or honeycrisp".

Luckily, the recipe is less demanding and more forgiving. We asked our local cheese monger for recommendations and the recipe turned out smashingly. Next time, we'll just use a grocery store Gorgonzola and we think it'll be fine.

The interplay of flavors was very nice, and the dish was great the second day reheated. (We set the apples aside so we wouldn't cook them in the microwave.)

All in all, if you like blue cheeses, and if you like pasta, this is a must try!
 
Annada R.
Annada R. August 27, 2019
I'm really liking this recipe and the combo of the ingredients. But I find it incomplete. Where do you combine the boiled pasta with the sauce?
 
Eric K.
Eric K. August 28, 2019
Updated!
 
klr
klr August 28, 2019
Annada, it is the last sentence in step 3 above.
 
DONNA D.
DONNA D. August 26, 2019
Hi, this was a delicious flavor combination. we used cheese Tortellini instead of the farfalle.
The negative thing, the sauce though, was too much, and too thin. When i make this again, I will use 2 or 21/2 cups of Heavy cream per pound of pasta.
 
Gary
Gary August 24, 2019
Hi! Nice recipe, I tried to redo this recipe by adding an ingredient, if u want to see bit.ly/the28daysdiet