Known as pasta alla cenere in Italy, this lightweight Gorgonzola paste with olives is a delicious creamy gourmet bowl that has only 3 main ingredients. Plus, it takes less than 30 minutes to make! Perfect as a weekday treat and special enough to earn guests!
What does alla cenere mean?
Cenere in Italian means ash or cinders. Although the origin of Pasta Alla Cener is uncertain, some Italian food writers say the name comes from the chopped olives in this dish that looks like ‘ash’. Given that Italy is home to a number of active volcanoes, it makes sense, I assume.
Regardless of its origins, I found a lot of Italian blogs and food places with a recipe for pasta alla cenere, so it’s obviously a popular Gorgonzola pasta recipe! I confess I hadn’t eaten it before but we love gnocchi or pasta with gorgonzola! At first I wasn’t sure to combine gorgonzola with olives, but wow they go beautifully together. I’m sure you agree if you try it!
What is the origin of gorgonzola?
Gorgonzola is a very old Italian cheese dating back to Roman times. Some food historians say it was first made in 879 AD In the northern Italian city of Gorgonzola, close to Milan. Yes, there is a city named Gorgonzola!
Others, however, believe that Gorgonzola was born in Pasturo, a city in Valsassina in Lombardy. Either way, it is the city that gave Gorgonzola cheese its name that remains the most famous, although it is no longer a center of the Gorgonzola production.
Today, Gorgonzola is produced all year round, but it was originally made in the fall with cow’s milk from herds that had been brought down to the Po valley from their summer grazing in the Alps.
Apparently, the people of Gorgonzola and the surrounding farms began to produce this cheese to preserve all the cow’s milk available over a short period of time.
This first Gorgonzola cheese was called ‘Stracchino’, which means tired in Italian, this was a reference to the milk that came from cows that were exhausted after their long migration south!
You can find out more about the history and production of Gorgonzola on the Website of the Italian consortium to protect Gorgonzola cheese. They also have lots of good recipes and not just for Gorgonzola pasta!
What is the difference between Gorgonzola Dolce and Gorgonzola Piccante?
Gorgonzola lovers will know that there are 2 types of this cheese, dolce (means sweet) and piccante (meaning spicy). Gorgonzola Dolce is softer and only slightly spicy. Gorgonzola Piccante is obviously spicings, plus its more blue-friended, thicker and narrower.
According to the Gorgonzola Consortium Web site, both types are made with pasteurized cow’s milk, milk enzymes and selected molds that give the cheese its blue/green stripes. Sweet Gorgonzola Dolce matures for 50-150 days, whereas spicy gorgonzola piccante matures for 80-270 days.
Is gorgonzola a blue cheese?
Gorgonzola is a blue cheese, but it is softer, milder and creamy than most other types. It is interesting that these cheeses outside Italy are called blue cheeses. The Italians refer to them as ‘formaggio verde’, which means green cheese!
Gorgonzola in this pasta alla cenere recipe.
Most Italian recipes for this gorgonzola paste with olives require sweet gorgonzola (dolce). That’s what I used. However, I have seen Pasta Alla Cenere recipes made with spicy Gorgonzola (Piccante). So if that’s what you have, I think it would work well. This is really a pasta recipe for gorgonzola lovers. But if you are not, you can replace the blue cheese with ricotta.
Olives in this gorgonzola pasta recipe.
This recipe has black olives. I used my favorites, Taggiasca Olives. These are more dark brown/green than black. They come from Liguria, especially the Alpes-Maritimes area and are also known as Cailletier Olives. Taggiasca is the same type of olive that the French user in Salad Niçoise.
Of course, you can use other types of black olives. Some Italians cheat a little and use ready -made coarse olive paté. The recipe I followed called for squeezed and finely chopped olives.
I chopped them with a knife, but you can also give them a vortex in a food processor. However, be careful not to puree them. You want these pieces of olives in your pasta alla cenere!
Make this recipe vegetarian.
As I mentioned above, this recipe is super easy to manufacture and has only 3 main ingredients. Apart from Gorgonzola and olives, all you need some milk or cream is to make the creamy sauce. You can also add some grana or parmigiano to thicken the sauce or when serving. But neither these two cheeses nor Gorgonzola are vegetarian because they have expensive -renown in them.
To make a vegetarian version of this recipe, you need vegetarian parmesan and blue cheese. Some types of blue cheese are definitely made without expensive reindeer. Italian Dolcelatte is closest to Gorgonzola. English stilton is vegetarian and some versions of Danish blue are too. Apparently, there are a number of other vegetarian blue cheeses on the market. Then check the labels or ask your cheesemonger.
The pasta used in this recipe.
Pasta alla cenere is most often made with pasta tubes such as rigatoni or pens. I used pens -paste from one of my favorite pasta companies from Gragnano, di Martino. Gragnano is a city close to Naples, which has been a pasta center for about 500 years.
I went there a couple of years ago on invitation from a subsidiary of DI Martino called Pastificio dei Campi. If you want to learn more about Gragnano and the pasta made there, you can check the post about my visit.
A super -fast gourmet recipe!
Usually we imagine that gourmet dishes are complex and time -consuming to manufacture. This lightweight Gorgonzola pasta recipe with olives is incredibly simple, and yet the result is a bowl you would be happy to have in a distinguished Italian restaurant!
Step by step instructions.
1) Put a large pot of water on to boil to the pasta. Add salt when it starts to boil and cook again. Cook pasta al dente according to the instructions on the package.
2) Pit and chop the olives into small pieces and cut off the skin from the gorgonzola and cut it into chunks.
3) Melt the gorgonzola in the milk or cream over a low heat in a deep frying pan or large saucepan.
4) Then add the olives and some fresh thyme or marjoram to the cheese sauce. Finally, add the cooked al dente paste plus some starchy pasta cooker to the sauce, mix over a medium heat and serve immediately. So easy and so delicious!
If you make this recipe, I would love to hear how it turns out and if you liked it. Leave a comment here on the blog or on Pasta Project Facebook page. Looking forward to hearing from you!
Buon Appetito!
Lightly and creamy Gorgonzola pasta with olives (pasta alla cenere)
Known as pasta alla cenere in Italy is this lightweight and creamy Gorgonzola paste with olives a delicious gourmet bowl that has only 3 main ingredients. Plus, it takes less than 30 minutes to make! Perfect as a weekday treat and special enough to earn guests! Delish like a side dish with chicken, pork or beef!
Ingredients
- 14 ounces Pens or rigatoni pasta or other pastores
- 10.5 ounces Gorgonzola Dolce or vegetarian blue cheese or ricotta
- 7 Floz full fat milk or fresh cream
- 3.5 ounces Black olives chopped and chopped. I used the taggiasca olives
- 1 twig Fresh marjoram or thyme optional
- 2 ounces Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana (2oz) torn or vegetarian parmesan.
- salt to pasta.
Instructions
Cook this recipe.
-
Put a large saucepan of water to a boil to the pasta. Add salt when it starts to boil and cook again.
-
While cooking the pasta water, put milk/cream and pieces of gorgonzola in a deep frying pan or large saucepan. Cook over a low heat while stirring continuously until the cheese is melted.
-
Add the chopped olives and then some fresh marjoram or thyme if you use it. Mix and cook on a very low heat for another minute. You can add some grated Parmigiano to thicken the sauce if necessary or just to make it even more cheesy!
-
Cook pasta al dente according to the instructions on the package. Save a cup of starch paste cooker and drain the pasta. If the sauce seems thick, add some pasta cooker water, stir, and then add the pasta. Mix the pasta and sauce together well over a medium heat and serve immediately with grated Parmigiano or Grana if necessary.
Prevent your screen from getting dark
Notes
To make a vegetarian version of this pasta recipe, use vegetarian parmesan and blue cheese. Gorgonzola is not vegetarian, but some types of blue cheese are. Italian Dolcelatte is closest to Gorgonzola. English stilton is vegetarian and some types of Danish blue are too.
Nutrition
Calories: 892KcalCarbohydrates: 79gProtein: 35gFat: 48gSaturated fat: 28gPoetOgeraturated fat: 2gEnhOsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 122mgSodium: 1472mgPotassium: 485mgFiber: 4gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 1508IuVitamin C: 0.3mgCalcium: 611mgIron: 2mg
Other gorgonzola pasta recipes to try.
- Gnocchi with gorgonzola 5 ways
- Gnocchi with gorgonzola and radicchio
- Short Fusilli Bucati with Gorgonzola, Mushrooms and Stain