Equipment
Ingredients
Main Ingredients
- 400 g dried short pasta
- 150 g gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
- 120 ml heavy cream, room temperature
- 150 g fresh baby spinach, washed and dried
- 2 garlic, minced
Pantry Essentials
- 15 g kosher salt
- black pepper, freshly cracked
Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition is estimated per serving. Nutrients without complete source data are omitted.
Full nutrition
- Calories
- 621 kcal
- Protein
- 24 g
- Carbohydrates
- 76 g
- Fat
- 25 g
- Fiber
- 3 g
- Sugar
- 3 g
- Sodium
- 1936 mg
- Saturated Fat
- 15 g
- Trans Fat
- 0 g
- Monounsaturated Fat
- 6 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat
- 1 g
- Cholesterol
- 62 mg
- Potassium
- 783 mg
- Calcium
- 302 mg
- Iron
- 3.8 mg
- Magnesium
- 148 mg
- Phosphorus
- 553 mg
- Zinc
- 4.1 mg
- Vitamin A
- 374 mcg
- Vitamin C
- 11 mg
- Vitamin D
- 0.7 mcg
- Vitamin E
- 1.1 mg
- Vitamin K
- 184 mcg
- Vitamin B6
- 0.2 mg
- Vitamin B12
- 0.5 mcg
- Thiamin
- 0.05 mg
- Riboflavin
- 0.28 mg
- Niacin
- 0.7 mg
- Folate
- 88 mcg
- Water
- 68 g
Sources: Aggregated Public Data, USDA FoodData Central
Method
Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a rolling boil at 100°C/212°F. Add the dried pasta and cook until al dente according to the package instructions.
While the pasta boils, place a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the heavy cream and minced garlic, bringing the mixture to a very gentle simmer to infuse the garlic flavor.
Add the crumbled Gorgonzola to the simmering cream. Stir continuously until the cheese has completely melted into the cream and formed a smooth, homogeneous sauce.
Add the fresh baby spinach to the skillet. Fold the greens gently into the warm cheese sauce until they are thoroughly coated and just wilted from the residual heat.
Drain the cooked pasta, ensuring you reserve at least 120ml of the starchy pasta cooking water. Add the drained pasta directly to the skillet with the spinach and Gorgonzola sauce.
Toss the pasta vigorously to coat it in the sauce. If the sauce seems too thick or sticky, add the reserved hot pasta water a small splash at a time while continuing to toss, until the sauce becomes glossy and perfectly clings to the noodles. Top with freshly cracked black pepper before serving.
Chef's Notes
- Always reserve a portion of your pasta cooking water before draining. The natural starches released by the boiling pasta act as a powerful emulsifier, helping rich dairy sauces cling to the noodles rather than slipping off.
- Using a short, tubular pasta shape like rigatoni or penne is highly recommended for this dish, as the hollow centers and external ridges trap the creamy Gorgonzola sauce perfectly.
- For the smoothest sauce integration, allow your Gorgonzola to sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes before cooking. Cold cheese added to warm liquid is more prone to splitting or clumping.
- Salt the pasta water generously until it tastes like the sea. Since the five-ingredient sauce relies heavily on the salty punch of the cheese, properly seasoned pasta water ensures the noodles themselves are flavorful from the inside out.
Storage
Refrigerator: 3 days — Sauce will thicken and solidify significantly when chilled.
Reheating: Reheat gently in a skillet over low heat, adding a splash of milk or water to loosen the sauce and restore its creamy texture.
Troubleshooting
Sauce looks oily, broken, or separated
Cause: The cream was boiled too vigorously or the pan was too hot when the cheese was added, causing the dairy fats to separate from the liquids.
Fix: Remove the skillet from the heat immediately. Add a vigorous splash of cold heavy cream or a tablespoon of hot, starchy pasta water and whisk rapidly to re-emulsify the fats.
Prevention: Maintain a medium-low heat and ensure the cream only reaches a gentle simmer. Never let the sauce come to a hard boil.
Sauce is too thick and clumpy when mixed with pasta
Cause: The pasta absorbed the available moisture, or the cheese sauce reduced too much before the pasta was added.
Fix: Add hot, reserved pasta water in 30ml increments, stirring vigorously until the sauce reaches the desired smooth consistency.
Prevention: Do not let the sauce sit over heat for too long while waiting for the pasta to finish cooking.
Cultural Context
Gorgonzola is a historic, blue-veined cheese originating from the Lombardy and Piedmont regions of Northern Italy, where its rich, marbled profile has been celebrated for centuries. Pairing this assertive, pungent cheese with earthy, dark leafy greens like spinach is a classic Northern Italian flavor strategy, designed to beautifully cut through and balance the heavy richness of alpine dairy cooking.
