Quatro Formaggi Pasta

Gooey. Cheese. Sauce. There is nothing more satisfying on a cold winter's day than such a sauce. I made this pasta a few weeks ago and (of course) shared the finished dish on Instagram. My friends' responses actually spurred the creation of this blog, so I think it is only fitting that this dish christen LAW in the kitchen.

As I sit here, the current temperature is -14 degrees Fahrenheit, -38 degree windchill. My office is probably a whopping 50 degrees, so I decided to blog this dish as a warming mechanism. Situated under my Snuggie, I will demonstrate how to make an ultimate comfort pasta dish.

I adapted this recipe from Bon Appetit's Fettuccine Quattro Formaggi. Our home only had farfalle, and I had to add a green vegetable to the mix. I also halved the recipe to feed two people and give Pat leftovers for lunch the next day, and replaced the cheeses with what our fridge had. Mix up the cheese you use! Particularly if you have random wedges in your fridge (as I tend to do). Cheddar would be a good one, and make it a bit more mac-and-cheesy. Brie would add some fancy flair too. 

Four Cheese Pasta with Spinach (makes 3 large servings)

1/4 cup pine nuts

8 oz. farfalle (or whatever noodle you prefer)

Salt

1 cup whipping cream

4 Tbs. butter

1/3 cup blue cheese, crumbled

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

1/3 cup goat cheese, crumbled

1/3 cup Pecorino Romano cheese, grated

dried crush red pepper

nutmeg

spinach

Place pine nuts in skillet over low heat. Toast for 5-6 minutes, or until fragrant and remnants of the oil can be seen in the pan.

Fill small pot with water for pasta. Add 1-2 Tbs. salt to water. (adding this much salt to the pasta water is key to delicious flavor when the dish comes together). Boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente (chewy, but not hard).

While pasta is cooking, add butter and cream to a large skillet over medium heat. Let butter melt into cream as it warms. While cream is warming, add cheeses to pan. Stir every so often as cheese melts into a sauce. Add as much red pepper as your tastebuds allow. Grate nutmeg into sauce. Give it a good stir.

Add drained pasta to sauce. Stir to coat. Season with salt and pep. Turn heat to low. Add handfuls of spinach to pasta. Give the leaves a second to wilt from the heat of the pasta, then stir spinach into the pasta. Turn heat off. Sprinkle pine nuts over the pasta. Continue to stir. 

Once the pasts has gotten into whatever serving receptacle you prefer, give it another dusting of grated Parmesan. Serve warm! Your tummy and your broken cold spirit will thank you.