Spinach&Gorgonzola Penne with Almonds

Something special for all the Pastamen :) Simple and fast plus I used the rest of gorgonzola and baby spinach I had in my fridge. No foodieolosophy about it, it's definitely one of my comfort food = easy to prepare + lots of calories... I recommend experimenting with various types of nuts since almonds can be easily "dominated" by the blue cheese - next time I'll try roasted walnuts myself. I softened my spinach with peanut oil hoping it would intensify the nuttiness of the fresh spinach leaves but it made no difference in taste - in this case, my beloved butter is the answer. If it comes to the blue cheese, I mainly go for gorgonzola as I love its creaminess. Roquefort, Danish Blue and so on are perfectly OK but these types are more solid.

Oh, and what about the "100g pasta per person" rule? Last month I had the opportunity to roam around Naples with a self-appointed Pastaman who was outraged with a ceramic spaghetti measure he saw: "The serving for 3-4 people is my regular portion of pasta", said the being of "high metabolism" with a dogmatic tone of voice :)

INGREDIENTS   &   METHOD

Serves a single me

• 100g penne
• 70g Gorgonzola
• 3-4 handfuls of fresh baby spinach
• 2 tbsp creme fraiche (or sour cream containing at least 18% fat)
• 1/2 clove of garlic
• 1 tbsp butter
• few almonds 

1. Boil the water for pasta - 1 liter per 100g; add salt only when it boils (pre-salted water has a higher temperature of boiling so it takes more time to get it ready) and cook the pasta al dente :)
2. Melt the butter and add the squashed garlic - these combo burns easily, so be careful.
3. Add the spinach and wait until it softens and shrinks (it takes about a minute...)
4. Stir the creme fraiche into the spinach and finely crumble the cheese into the mixture; wait until it melts.
5. Errr...It's done :) Now you can roast the almonds on the oil-free pan, chop them and sprinkle over the dish to provide an extra crunchy texture.
6. I devoured this portion watching "The Limits of Control" by Jarmusch - double Yum!