Spaghetti with Pear, Gorgonzola, and Walnuts
An Italian pasta dish featuring classic flavors. The combination of Gorgonzola, walnuts, and pear has roots in Northern Italy. Blending these ingredients into a sauce—along with a few additional flavor components—makes a truly delightful pasta dish. While I generally avoid adding cream to pasta, an exception is well worth making here; it makes the dish even more delicious.
Preparation time: About 30 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Serves: Two
Ingredients:
150 g spaghetti
150 g Gorgonzola cheese
100 ml heavy cream
A handful of walnuts, coarsely chopped
A handful of chopped fresh parsley
1 red chili, thinly sliced
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of about ¼ of a lemon
Black pepper and sea salt
About 1.5 ripe pears, cored and sliced
50 g butter (for frying)
3–4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
A handful of coarsely torn basil leaves (for serving)
A lemon wedge (for serving)
Instructions:
- Cook the spaghetti in lightly salted water according to the package instructions.
- While the spaghetti is cooking, prepare the sauce. Cut the pears into wedges, remove the cores, and slice the wedges.
- Roughly chop the walnuts and slice the chili. Chop the parsley.
- Heat some oil in a heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat; add the garlic and pears, and sauté for about a minute. Add the chili, parsley, and most of the walnuts. Reserve a few walnuts for sprinkling on top later.
- Add the Gorgonzola cheese and stir until melted. Pour in the heavy cream, and season lightly with sea salt and black pepper.
- Grate some lemon zest over the dish and add the juice of about ¼ of a lemon.
- Add the spaghetti to the sauce and toss to combine. To serve, garnish with torn basil leaves and sprinkle with the remaining walnuts. Place a lemon wedge on the edge of the plate.
Ready!
