Last night my roomy @hellastoops was hella hungry and so I decided to experiment with a few things I had in the fridge to create a satisfying meal using very few fresh ingredients. Normally I strive to include fresh herbs, citrus notes, etc in my pasta creations but given the situation I decided to dig out frozen peas, some funky Gorgonzola cheese and heavy cream and see what happened. What happened was very good so here’s the rough recipe. Fast and loose is the name of the game here. Just cook with your eyes and taste often. You can substitute frozen asparagus or spinach for the peas, or better yet use the fresh stuff. That said, in a pinch this one is a winner!

Spaghetti with Gorgonzola Cream Sauce & Peas (serves two)

– Approx 1/3 lb spaghetti
– Approx 1 cup heavy cream or enough to coat a medium sized skillet plus a bit extra
– Approx 3/4 cup frozen peas
– Good amount of freshly ground black pepper
– Couple of handfuls of crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
– Few drops of super high quality fruity olive oil for garnish

1. Bring a saucepan full of water to a boil over medium/high heat. Salt water until it tastes like the ocean.

2. In medium skillet over medium/high heat reduce heavy cream for around 3 minutes. Add frozen peas and lower heat to medium/low. Don’t worry about it bubbling, but be sure to stir it every so often.

3. Cook for around 5 minutes or until sauce thickens. It should be thick enough to leave a trail in the pan and coat the back of a spoon without dripping. Then add crumbled Gorgonzola. Finally, season with salt and freshly ground pepper as needed. Turn off heat.

4. Cook pasta until “sub al-dente”, around 85% done. Drain but not super duper well. You want some of the starchy pasta water in the sauce, it helps it emulsify.

5. Toss pasta with cream sauce over super low heat and allow pasta to absorb flavors for 3-4 minutes.

6. Garnish with a few drips of fruity olive oil and serve.

That’s it! A guaranteed Tuesday night dinner for less than 4 bucks in under 15 minutes.

Fork The World,

Elliot

@youngelz