Blue cheese linguine with bacon, peas, and walnuts

Name: Blue cheese linguine with bacon, peas, and walnuts
Total time: 1200 s
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 6-8 slices good quality bacon; 1/2 cup chopped walnuts; 450 g dry linguine; 1 shallot, thinly sliced; 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced; 1/2 cup heavy cream; 125 g gorgonzola cheese; 1 cup frozen sweet peas; 500 g grape tomatoes, halved; Juice of 1/2 lemon; Kosher salt

Robert Gonzal @robert

Vancouver BC

It's been an age-and-a-half since I've had one of my favourite indulgences: blue cheese. So when the wife agreed to a pasta night, it didn't take long to decide on the type of sauce to make. Creamy, delicious blue cheese, of course. With a little (or a lot) of crispy bacon mixed in. And some walnuts for crunch. And bright, cheerful sweet peas because, y'know, veg. If you're thinking of making this, a word of warning: this dish is heavy. So dieters, stay away. To help cope with some of the richness, I've included a bonus recipe for a super-simple tomato salad. It makes a great accompaniment to the pasta.

Robert Gonzal @robert

Saved

Ingredients

20 minutes

4 servings

6-8 slicesgood quality bacon
1/2 cupchopped walnuts
450 gdry linguine
1shallot, thinly sliced
2 clovesgarlic, thinly sliced
1/2 cupheavy cream
125 ggorgonzola cheese
1 cupfrozen sweet peas
500 ggrape tomatoes, halved
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Kosher salt

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Steps

20 minutes

1

Fry the bacon in a pan as you normally would. Once crisped, remove the bacon to a plate. Let the pan cool a bit, then wipe out the grease with some kitchen towel. Put the pan back on medium heat, then add the walnuts. Let the walnuts toast (don't let them burn) for about 2 minutes, then remove them to a bowl.
2

Drop your noodles into a large pot of boiling salted water. While they cook, whip up the sauce.
3

Put a fresh large pan on medium heat. Add a splash of olive oil, then add the shallot and garlic. Let them fry gently for about 2 minutes until softened and fragrant.
4

Add the cream to the pan. Once it simmers, add the gorgonzola, a little at a time. Stir frequently to melt the cheese. Season well with freshly cracked black pepper.
5

Once the pasta's almost cooked, crumble the bacon and add it to the sauce, along with the walnuts and peas. Drag the noodles into the pan and toss to coat. If the pasta seems thick, loosen it with a ladle or so of pasta cooking water. Serve immediately.
6

Tomato salad: toss the tomatoes and lemon juice in a large bowl. Season with the salt only when you're ready to serve (or else the tomatoes will become watery).