Penne With Blue Cheese And Herbs Recipes

Steps:

• Saute the diced onion in olive oil over medium heat until the onions are translucent.
• Add the minced garlic and saute one minute longer.
• Add the tomatoes with juices, red wine and dried oregano to the onion-garlic mixture and simmer until most of the juices are gone, about 8-10 minutes.
• Add the salt and pepper to taste and reduce heat to low.
• Simmer covered, on very low heat, while the Penne Pasta is cooking, about 8 minutes.
• Add the crumbled blue cheese and half of the fresh basil to the sauce mixture.
• Stir until the sauce has become creamy.
• Pour the tomato sauce over the hot cooked pasta and toss with the remaining fresh basil.
• Spoon pasta into serving bowl and garnish with whole fresh basil leaves.

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of cold water to a boil over high heat, then salt it generously, add the pasta, and cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente. Drain.
• Meanwhile, strip the leaves from the oregano and thyme sprigs. Chop them together with the garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and the pepper, and then use the flat side of the knife to mash and smear the mixture to a coarse paste. Put in a bowl, along with the cheese, olive oil and toss to coat the cheese with the herb paste.
• Cut the tomatoes into pieces about the same size as the cheese. Gently fold the tomatoes, parsley, and olives in with the cheese. Add the drained pasta and toss, then drizzle over a bit of olive oil and toss again. Serve now or room temperature.

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add salt and stir in the penne. Reduce to medium-high and cook penne, uncovered, until al dente, 6-7 minutes.
• Meanwhile, place walnuts on a rimmed baking sheet and bake in preheated 350-degree o ven until lightly toasted, 4-5 minutes.
• Place pesto and blue c heese in a large serving bowl and using a fork, mash the blue cheese into the pesto.
• Rinse asparagus spears and snap off and discard their tough ends. Break spears into 1 1/2-inch long pieces.
• During the last 3 minutes of the penne cooking time, add asparagus to pot and cook until bright green and crisp-tender. Drain penne and asparagus well in colander. Add to the bowl with the pesto and stir to coat them well. Top with toasted walnuts and serve at once.

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute. Add mushrooms; sauté until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, basil and oregano and simmer until sauce thickens slightly, about 5 minutes. (Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)
• Cook penne in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup cooking liquid. Add pasta and cooking liquid to sauce in skillet. Toss over medium heat until mixture is heated through and sauce coats pasta. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer pasta to bowl. Sprinkle with Gorgonzola cheese and serve.