This Italian-inspired four-cheese sauce (salsa ai quattro formaggi) is comfort food at its finest and works great with any type of pasta or gnocchi.
It’s probably best you don’t count the calories when eating this dish, as it is indeed rich and heavy, but oh so satisfying!
This pasta recipe is incredibly versatile and is a smart way to use up any odd chunks of cheese leftover in your fridge.
A four-cheese sauce ideally consists of a combination of a sharp cheese (Cheddar, Gouda, Provolone), a soft cheese (Camembert, Brie, Fontina), a blue cheese (Gorgonzola, Roquefort, Stilton), and topped with a hard cheese (Parmesan, Pecorino, Manchego). There is no need to add salt to this dish as the abundance of cheesy goodness provides a great deal of savouriness.
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook in: 10 minutes
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
- 400g dried tagliatelle or fettucine
- 75g shallots, finely diced
- 100g pancetta, cut into small cubes
- 25g garlic, finely chopped
- 50ml white wine
- 600ml thickened cream
- 5g ground paprika
- 5g white pepper, freshly cracked
- 50g vintage cheddar
- 50g camembert, rind removed
- 50g gorgonzola
- 50g spinach
- 15g fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 25g parmesan, grated to finish
Method
- Place the pasta in a pot of rapid boiling water; set a timer to cook till “al dente”. Meanwhile, prepare your sauce on another element.
- Begin with a glug of olive oil and a small knob of butter in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan. Gently sauté the shallots on a medium flame to soften.
- Crank up the heat to high, add the pancetta and stir for three minutes. Add the garlic, stir for a further two minutes before deglazing the pan with white wine. Simmer till the liquid has reduced by half, and then add in the cream.
- Turn the heat down to low. Stir in the paprika, cracked pepper, cheddar, camembert, and gorzongola till the cheese has melted.
- Add a couple of ladles of the pasta water to loosen the sauce. Stir in the spinach till it has wilted.
- Carefully drain the pasta in a colander, and then add it to the sauce, stirring to combine.
- Portion out the creamy pasta into four serving bowls. Garnish with fresh parsley and parmesan.
From page 28 of Issue 25: Crises and Trauma of The Record Magazine