Orecchiette with Spinach and Gorgonzola Sauce

orecchiette with spinach and gorgonzola sauce

Today I present a supremely easy, light and healthy one-pot pasta dish. Start to finish, I bet you could pull this together in fifteen to twenty minutes. It’s super versatile, too. If you don’t like gorgonzola, use a different kind of cheese! Find a beautiful bunch of chard? Sub chard for the spinach! Add roasted winter vegetables or white beans!

In keeping with the light and simple spirit of this dish, I’ll keep the words to a minimum. A couple of my favorite friends (and their funny mutt, Maybe) are coming to town and staying with Cookie and me this weekend. I’m so eager to shut down the computer and enjoy the company of good friends that I can hardly sit still.

Peach Crest Farms spinach and whole wheat orecchiette

As with any simple dish, quality ingredients are key. Start with whole wheat orecchiette or any small whole wheat pasta (rotini or penne may be easier to find). Seek out the freshest greens possible. This spinach from Peach Crest Farm in Stratford, Oklahoma, puts the regular store brands to shame.

PeachCrest Farms' spinach field

My friend Matt and I actually visited Peach Crest a couple of weeks ago. We plucked spinach leaves straight from the source, glittering with dirt. Best spinach I’ve ever tasted. (I’ll share more about our trip to Peach Crest later.)

dog begging for spinach

The spinach is so good that Cookie literally begged for it. She kept sneaking off with spinach leaves from the table while I was taking pictures!

lemon gorgonzola sauce

Today’s recipe is inspired by a simple recipe I found in the spring section of Vegetables from an Italian Garden. Fortunately James from Peach Crest says he’ll be able to grow spinach all winter long, so I’ll be able to enjoy this meal from now through spring!

orecchiette with steamed spinach

Rather than sautéeing the spinach with shallot in olive oil, I took a shortcut that I picked up while reading Mark Bittman’s Food Matters Cookbook. The secret to quickly steaming greens for pasta is this: once the pasta is done cooking, just throw the greens into the pot, wait a few seconds, and drain!

4.5 from 2 reviews

Orecchiette with Spinach and Gorgonzola Sauce
Author: 
Recipe type: Entree or Side
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 

Serves: 4 to 6
 

I whipped together the gorgonzola sauce using ingredients I had on hand: crumbled gorgonzola cheese, 2% milk, and lemon. I recently encountered a gorgonzola cream sauce that used gorgonzola (duh), cream (duh), and nutmeg (delicious), so you might like to try nutmeg instead of lemon. I think goat cheese would be pretty amazing along with some chopped roasted red pepper, which is not unlike my favorite pasta salad recipe. You could also go with a simple butter and garlic sauce, pasta, and steamed greens!
Ingredients
  • 6 to 8 ounces of spinach (or other fresh greens)
  • 12 ounce package of whole wheat orecchiette (or any other small pasta shape)
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/2 cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese (or more)
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • one lemon, juiced
  • salt and pepper

Instructions
  1. Bring a big pot of salted water to a boil. Add your pasta and cook until al dente, according to the directions on the box.
  2. Rinse off the spinach. If desired, roughly chop your spinach into slightly smaller pieces.
  3. In a small bowl, mix together the milk, gorgonzola and the juice of one lemon.
  4. Once the pasta is done cooking, toss in the spinach, stir, and cook for about 10 to 15 seconds . Drain. Drizzle in the olive oil and pour in your gorgonzola sauce. Stir, and enjoy!

vegetables for an italian garden cookbook
Guess what?! In my haste to publish my Wassail post, I neglected to mention that I have several cookbook giveaways lined up for the month of December. I’m developing a serious cookbook obsession (and a collection that goes with it) and I’m excited to share the wealth. It’s my little holiday gift to you!

Today I’m giving away a copy of Vegetables from an Italian Garden, a visually stunning cookbook organized by season, then further broken down by vegetable. Most of the recipes are vegetarian; all of them call for a healthy dose of vegetables. It’s an inspiring, coffee table-worthy book full of wholesome recipes from Silver Spoon Kitchen. (Pssst… this book would be a wonderful gift for the avid cooks on your list.)

For a chance to win a copy of Vegetables from an Italian Garden, leave a comment below and tell me your favorite Italian dish!

The fine print: You have until midnight CST on Wednesday, December 14th, to leave your comment for a chance to win. I will notify the winner by email on Saturday; the winner must reply within 7 days with a valid mailing address or I will randomly select another winner. Good luck!

Update: Congratulations to Susy, whose favorite Italian meal is pizza margherita, for winning the giveaway! Best of luck to all in future giveaways!

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64 Comments

  1. Susy
    Posted December 13, 2011 at 1:45 PM | Permalink

    I would love this book; my favorite Italian recipe is pizza margareta.

  2. Posted December 13, 2011 at 4:02 PM | Permalink

    This looks absolutely delicious!! I love orrechiette and all simple pasta dishes. The trick about finishing the spinach in the pasta water is brilliant. Oh, Mark Bittman. He never steers me wrong. I would love a copy of this fabulous book! My favorite Italian dish? Although it’s like asking me who my favorite child is, the winner may be Spaghetti Carbonara. And I mean the good stuff, not cream-laden. Does that count even though it has no vegetables? ;-)

  3. Steven
    Posted December 13, 2011 at 4:27 PM | Permalink

    My favorite Italian recipe would have to be Ricotta Stuffed Shells!
    So Yummmmy!

  4. Jill Hutmacher
    Posted December 13, 2011 at 4:32 PM | Permalink

    I love all things Italian, but would have to say my favorite recipe is eggplant parmigiana- with homemade sauce, pesto and lots of cheese!

  5. Soomin
    Posted December 13, 2011 at 4:50 PM | Permalink

    I love simple but delicious bruschetta!

    I didn’t like gorgonzola for a long long time, but recently, I don’t know why, I learn to appreciate the taste of it. so I guess, I’ll give your recipe a try :)

  6. Jeff Blackwell
    Posted December 13, 2011 at 5:29 PM | Permalink

    My favorite Italian recipe is spaghetti and meatballs. It’s easy to make and you can always adjust the recipe to your own liking. That and a stiff cocktail hits the spot.

  7. Posted December 13, 2011 at 5:57 PM | Permalink

    Toasted ravioli – love it!

  8. Alex
    Posted December 13, 2011 at 9:12 PM | Permalink

    My favorite is bruschetta :)

  9. Kate
    Posted December 13, 2011 at 9:55 PM | Permalink

    I can’t resist. My favorite Italian dish is very thin spaghetti tossed with fresh, uncooked tomatoes, basil, garlic, olive oil and Parmesan. Molto buono!

  10. Posted December 13, 2011 at 10:11 PM | Permalink

    Oh my, I may just make the deadline! Dying to get my hands on that book. I have been eyeing it at the bookshop for months. Veggies rule!! Hope I win :) I could eat Italian food for the rest of my life, favorites being classic like caprese.

  11. Posted December 14, 2011 at 5:46 AM | Permalink

    i must say that i’m not that well-known with the italian kitchen. my mum always made ‘italian’ pastas by throwing lots of different ingredients into one store-bought tomato sause when i was young. though italian food is about simplicity, about only using a few ingredients, right?
    anyway, would love to get to know the italian kitchen a bit more.
    so my favorite italian dish is one that i dont know yet (cause my moms pastas sure aren’t!).

  12. Posted December 14, 2011 at 1:45 PM | Permalink

    This dish looks wonderful! My favorite Italian dish is gnocchi. My boyfriend and I made it at home for the first time several years ago with the cookbook open for instructions and flour everywhere. We’ve since made it a number of times, and discovered that ricotta gnocchi is way easier than potato gnocchi.

  13. Judith
    Posted December 14, 2011 at 8:58 PM | Permalink

    My favorite is stuffed shells with ricotta and spinach.

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