Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Gorgonzola fettuccine with asparagus

A while back I bought a cookbook with this recipe in it and have been wanting to try it for a long time. I altered the recipe a little bit, so I will post what I did to it. Also, where this was the first time I had made this, there are things I would do different next time. I will let you know what those are as well.

Gorgonzola Fettuccine with Asparagus:

Ingredients:
11 oz (about half a small package) of fettuccine
12 oz (1 1/2 packages) sliced mushrooms
3 cups or so (however much you want to add) fresh asparagus cut into 1 - 2 inch pieces
4 Tbsp butter
4 garlic cloves minced
2 Tbsp flour
2 1/2 cups fat free milk
1/2 cup (4 oz or half a brick) cream cheese
Salt and pepper
1 cup (4 oz) gorgonzola cheese (This is one of my favorite cheeses and it wasn't as strong as I would have liked it. Next time I make it I will be adding more. If you don't like this cheese or are afraid to try a blue cheese use the 4 oz, it's not strong at all)

And this recipe called for walnuts, but honestly I didn't care for them that much in this recipe. They were fine, if you would like to add them go for it. I won't add them next time I make it.

Cook pasta in boiling salted water according to cooking directions on back of package. Mine called for 9-11 minutes. About 2 minutes before the pasta is finished, add asparagus and cook until tender. Drain pasta and asparagus.

While the pasta is cooking in a separate pan saute mushrooms in butter. When they are cooked the way you want them, season with salt and pepper and set aside.
Melt butter over medium heat in same pan you sauted the mushrooms in. Add garlic and let the butter infuse (soak up) the garlic flavor. Add flour, cook for about 30 seconds stirring constantly. It should turn into a paste. This is called a roux (pronounced Roo). This will thicken the milk and make it a sauce. It's also used in gravies, etc. Gradually add the milk stirring well with a whisk to make sure there are no clumps. This will start to thicken right away. Whisk in cream cheese and season with salt and pepper. Add cheese to sauce until melted. Add mushrooms and pour over noodles. Mix and serve.

I served with a torn chunk of french bread.


1 comment:

  1. This recipe was actually quiet scrump-didly-umptious, however I doubled the ingredients for a dinner party and it was a HIT! oh, and I used spinich and sun dried tomatoes instead of asparagus, but the sauce recipe is great!

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