Garlicky Pasta Goodness
It's an approximation of what I get at my favorite Italian restaurant.
This made enough for 4 hungry people with lots of leftovers.
Any timing will be a bit random...just read through everything and figure out how long it'll take YOU. The garlic at the beginning is the trickiest...sometimes it's fast and sometimes it seems to take forever. The trick is to do most everything simultaneously.
Toast walnuts at 350 F for 5 minutes on cookie sheet.
Toast garlic in dry pan on top of stove over low heat until spotted brown. The trick is that you separate the cloves, but do NOT remove the papery covers...those will come off after toasting. This takes about 20-30 minutes, so do it first. The garlic will be fairly soft all the way through.
Begin boiling water for pasta. Drain the tomatoes just a bit and then place them in another pan, over med-low. Drain and add the olives. Cook off some of the water, but when they start looking, oh, limp, turn the heat way down and just steam them until they are soft but not pasty.
Somewhere in here...shell the garlic and cut big gloves into smaller chunks. Not too small, as the whole cloves are kind of fun and some people like to spread their goodness on bread.
Cook penne to al dente.
While that is going, melt a couple tablespoons of butter in a small pan. Once foaming subsides, add a few tablespoons of cream or milk and half the gorgonzola. Cook over med-low to thicken just a bit. Add the garlic and turn very low until the penne is done.
When the penne is done, drain it and throw back in pot. Pour the tomatoes, olives, a little more cream, the gorgonzola sauce, the rest of the gorgonzola, and the walnuts over the pasta. Toss everything a bit and serve right away.
For the record, this makes a great leftover...and if the cheese is a little much the first day it really tames by the second.
This made enough for 4 hungry people with lots of leftovers.
- Ingredients
- Penne
- 2 heads of garlic
- Roma tomatoes...maybe 1 1/2 per person. Dice into 1/3 inch squares, remove watery innards if necessary
- Gorgonzola...I used a 4 oz pre-crumbled container, needed a bit more
- Walnuts - an overflowing cups worth of whole, shelled
- Italian olives, any kind you like, maybe a little less than a cup
- Butter
- Cream or milk
Any timing will be a bit random...just read through everything and figure out how long it'll take YOU. The garlic at the beginning is the trickiest...sometimes it's fast and sometimes it seems to take forever. The trick is to do most everything simultaneously.
Toast walnuts at 350 F for 5 minutes on cookie sheet.
Toast garlic in dry pan on top of stove over low heat until spotted brown. The trick is that you separate the cloves, but do NOT remove the papery covers...those will come off after toasting. This takes about 20-30 minutes, so do it first. The garlic will be fairly soft all the way through.
Begin boiling water for pasta. Drain the tomatoes just a bit and then place them in another pan, over med-low. Drain and add the olives. Cook off some of the water, but when they start looking, oh, limp, turn the heat way down and just steam them until they are soft but not pasty.
Somewhere in here...shell the garlic and cut big gloves into smaller chunks. Not too small, as the whole cloves are kind of fun and some people like to spread their goodness on bread.
Cook penne to al dente.
While that is going, melt a couple tablespoons of butter in a small pan. Once foaming subsides, add a few tablespoons of cream or milk and half the gorgonzola. Cook over med-low to thicken just a bit. Add the garlic and turn very low until the penne is done.
When the penne is done, drain it and throw back in pot. Pour the tomatoes, olives, a little more cream, the gorgonzola sauce, the rest of the gorgonzola, and the walnuts over the pasta. Toss everything a bit and serve right away.
For the record, this makes a great leftover...and if the cheese is a little much the first day it really tames by the second.