Fresh pasta dish offers complex flavors

It is unusual sometimes how recipes develop out of unpredictable situations.

Last week, I got a request for a cooking lesson — specifically, for a blue cheese sauce. Naturally, I enjoyed having a bit of a challenge.

This recipe for fresh pappardelle pasta with gorgonzola-walnut sauce, although simple, is one of the finest dishes you would ever taste. The reasons are mainly due to preparing your own fresh pasta at home and the complex flavor of the sauce.

Originally, this type of pasta was prepared with meat stews, including wild boar, often braised and slow cooked before they are mixed with the pasta.

People in the town of Gemmano, in northern Italy, celebrate an annual festival (Sagra delle pappardelle al cinghiale) dedicated to pappardelle, which is held in August.

I will be serving this fresh pasta in the coming weeks at Café Collage.

PAPPARDELLE WITH GORGONZOLA-WALNUT SAUCE

For the sauce:

1 pound Gorgonzola blue cheese

1 cup half and half

1 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon aged balsamic vinegar (I prefer 18-year-old Sierra d'oro balsamic vinegar)

1 anchovy

1 tablespoon Meyer lemon juice

5 ounces unsalted butter

Ground black pepper, to taste

1⁄2 pound fresh walnuts (I get them from the Mediterranean market in Sacramento or at the produce store on Highway 20 between Marysville and Browns Valley)

For the pasta:

2-1⁄2 cups all-purpose flour

2-1⁄2 cups semolina flour

4 eggs (preferably organic)

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Pinch of salt

Water, add as needed to balance moisture in the pasta

Preparation

For sauce: In a blender, mix all the sauce ingredients together except the walnuts and butter. Set aside.

For pasta: Mound up the flour and semolina on a wooden or marble surface. Make a well in the top of the mound. Beat the eggs and add to the center of the well in the flour along with the olive oil and salt.

Blend the mixture together little by little until the dough gets firm but not too stiff. Add flour to the surface to prevent the dough from sticking. Add water if necessary to knead the dough and keep it moist. Knead the dough by pressing it flat. Cover the dough and let it rest for one hour.

You may prepare the pasta dough with a food processor by adding all the ingredients and processing until the dough is smooth and elastic. Knead the dough on a floured surface (as above) if necessary.

Divide the dough into four equal portions. Evenly roll out each portion on a floured surface and, using a pizza cutter or a knife, cut the dough into 1-inch wide strips. Then cut the strips into portions about 1 inch long.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Place the walnuts on a baking pan and toast them for 15 minutes, or just until they turn light brown on the sides. Transfer to a cutting board. Let them cool. Using a chef's knife, chop the walnuts into 1⁄2-inch pieces.

Cook the pasta in boiling salted water for 10 minutes. Remove and drain the pasta. In a large bowl, toss the pasta with extra-virgin olive oil.

Melt the butter in a pan over medium heat. Add the Gorgonzola mixture and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring continually. Add the chopped nuts. Pour the sauce into the bowl with the cooked pasta.

Toss the pappardelle lightly to coat the pasta with the sauce and serve immediately. Garnish the dish by sprinkling with ground black pepper and chopped parsley.

Salim Ben Mami is head chef and owner of Café Collage restaurant in Oregon House, Calif. Contact him at 530-692-2555 or ccollage@succeed.net. His website is cafecollage.net.