Easy and Creamy Gorgonzola Pasta with Olives (pasta alla cenere)

Easy Gorgonzola Pasta with Olives alla Cenere

4.97 from 61 votes

Easy and Creamy Gorgonzola Pasta with Olives (pasta alla cenere)

Known as pasta alla cenere in Italy, this easy and creamy gorgonzola pasta with olives is a delicious gourmet dish that has only 3 main ingredients. Plus, it takes less than 30 minutes to make! Perfect as a weeknight treat and special enough to serve to guests! Also delish as a side dish with chicken, pork or beef!

Prep Time10

Cook Time15

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian, Northern Italy

Keyword: Gorgonzola, pasta alla cenere, pasta gorgonzola

Servings:

Calories: 892kcal

Author: Jacqui

Ingredients

14 ounces penne or rigatoni pasta or other pasta tubes
10.5 ounces Gorgonzola Dolce or vegetarian blue cheese or ricotta
7 Floz full fat milk or fresh cream
3.5 ounces black olives pitted and chopped. I used taggiasca olives
1 sprig fresh marjoram or thyme optional
2 ounces Parmigiano Reggiano or grana (2oz) grated or vegetarian parmesan.
salt for pasta.

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Prepare the ingredients

Remove the stones from the olives (if not already pitted) and chop them into very small pieces. Cut the skin off the Gorgonzola cheese and cut it into small chunks.

Cook this recipe.

Put a large pot of water onto boil for the pasta. Add salt once it starts to boil and bring to the boil again.
While you boil the pasta water, put the milk/cream and pieces of Gorgonzola into a deep skillet or large saucepan. Cook over a low heat, stirring continuously until the cheese has melted.
Add the chopped olives and then some fresh marjoram or thyme if using. 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 packet. Save a cup of the starchy pasta cooking water and drain the pasta. If the sauce seems thick add some pasta cooking 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 required.

Notes

Pasta alla cenere is most often made with pasta tubes like rigatoni or penne pasta but you can use any type of pasta including spaghetti.

To make a vegetarian version of this pasta recipe, you’ll need to use vegetarian parmesan and blue cheese. Gorgonzola isn't vegetarian, but some types of blue cheese are. Italian dolcelatte is the closest to Gorgonzola. English Stilton is vegetarian and some types of Danish Blue are too.

Nutrition