This recipe Orecchiette with Creamy Basil Blue Cheese Sauce is quick to make. It will offer a surprisingly creamy and light pasta dish that is worth trying. When you’re not a blue cheese lover, try this recipe nevertheless, you may be converting to enjoying it.
Often recipes are categorized by country from which recipe derived, flavor, ingredients used, seasonality, cooking method, level of difficulty and time it takes to prepare. I am sure there is more to add to this list. This particular recipe will fall into the category ‘super-simple-super-fast’.
Key Ingredients in This Recipe
- Pasta – I used orecchiette, but any pasta will do.
- Ricotta – I usually pick a low fat version of ricotta as in this recipe I personally don’t taste a difference when using a full cream version.
- Yogurt – again low fat version.
- Basil
- Blue cheese – I used Danish Blue, but other blue cheese that have a degree of sharpness will do fine, like Roquefort, Buttermilk Blue, even Maytag blue or Original Blue. The combination of the ricotta and the sharp blue flavor is just absolutely wonderful.
- Pine nuts
How to Make Orecchiette with Creamy Basil Blue Cheese Sauce
Step 1 – Cook the pasta according to the direction on the packaging.
Step 2 – Roast the pine nuts at the same time as cooking the pasta. My working method is to place the raw pine nuts on a baking sheet and place it in the oven. Turn the oven on to warm to 350 degrees F and as soon as that temperature has been reached, my pine nuts are done. Turn off the oven.
Step 3 – Make the Creamy Basil Blue Cheese Sauce by processing basil, blue cheese, ricotta, yogurt, sherry vinegar, garlic, and pepper in a food processor or with a immersion mixer, until smooth.
Step 4 – Drain the pasta and keep some pasta water handy. Return pasta to the pan, add the sauce and mix. Add some pasta water if the sauce is too thick to your liking.
Warm (NOT COOK) the sauce for 1-2 minutes.
Step 5 – Divide the pasta over 2 plates and garnish with basil and roasted pine nuts.
Make sure your plates are warm before you serve. In general a good advice, as pasta cools of quickly.
This sauce will be a surprise; creamy, refreshing and salty. I know there are a lot of people who don’t like blue cheese. A complete bummer for me, there are so many fantastic blue cheeses. I always wonder how you can say “I don’t like blue cheese”. It’s like saying that you don’t like cheddar. There are so many varieties, so many flavor, textures, aromas that there must be a way to get you to learn to eat blue cheese, a way to wean you onto this fantastic cheese group. Just a humble shout-out as a blue cheese lover.
As you can also use the sauce cold, this recipe is also a great lunch option. It’s not heavy, so you won’t have a 3 p.m. dip.
Other Recipes with Blue Cheese to Try
- Gorgonzola Risotto with Sundried Tomatoes
- Alpine & Blue Cheese Fondue
- Cavatelli with Gorgonzola Sauce
- Grilled Little Gem Lettuce with Blue Cheese Dressing
Orecchiette with Creamy Basil Blue Cheese Sauce
Ingredients
- 4 ounes orecchiette pasta
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 cup basil leaves
- 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
- 1/2 cup yogurt
- 1/2 cup blue cheese sharp and crumbled
- 2 teaspoons sherry vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 2 tablespoons pine nuts
- 4 whole basil leaves cut in strips
Instructions
- Toast the pine nuts, by spreading them on a baking sheet and place them in a cold oven. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Once the oven reached its temperature, turn it off and take the nuts out of the oven. If you do this for the first time, please keep an eye on the color of the nuts; every oven has it own settings, temperatures and not the same and heating times may differ.
- Bring water and salt to a boil and add the pasta. Cook the pasta according to directions on the packaging.
- Peel the garlic and place it in a food processor and pulse a few times. Add the basil leaves, ricotta cheese, yogurt, blue cheese crumbles, sherry vinegar and pepper. Pulse until smooth. You can also use an immersion mixer.
- Drain the pasta, return to pan, add the sauce and warm for a few minutes.
- Divide pasta over 2 plates, and sprinkle with basil and pine nuts.
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