I’m Feeling Kinda’ Blue
May 23rd, 2008 | By Peter Minakis | Category: Cheese, Italian, Main, Nuts, Pasta, Salad
As in blue cheese, that is.
During one of my recent food shopping adventures, I was lucky to find some English Stilton for a very good price.
Stilton is one of the family of blue cheeses and as the saying goes, “the stinkier, the better”.
I have two dishes for you today, the first being a salad that eats like a meal and the second being an easy pasta dish with blue cheese.
In both dishes, blue cheese is the star. With the salad, you get the crunch of the julienned apple and crisp lettuce, contrasted by the creamy blue.
With the pasta, a little blue cheese goes a long way to flavour this full-bodied pasta dish. Cheese lovers will lick the pasta bowl here.
Crisp Romaine Salad With Apple and Blue Cheese
(for 4)
1 Granny Smith apple, cored and julienned
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 head of Romaine lettuce, washed, dried and hand torn
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 tsp. of Dijon mustard
1 tsp. of chopped fresh tarragon
4 Tbsp. of Balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
crumbled blue cheese
- In a large bowl, add your garlic, vinegar and mustard and mix. Now while whisking, slowly add your olive oil until you get a nice, thick emulsified dressing. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Set aside.
- Using a mandoline, julienne your apple and add to your bowl of dressing. Toss the julienned apples in the dressing.
- Add your Romaine lettuce and chopped tarragon and toss your salad.
- Serve with chopped walnuts and crumbled blue cheese
Pasta With Blue Cheese and Walnuts
(for 2)
handful of walnuts, chopped
2 Tbsp. of Marsala wine
1 small onion, diced
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 cup mushrooms, chopped
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese
1 Tbsp. of butter
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/3 cup of heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste 
- Get a large pot of water boiling and and add a generous amount of salt when aboil. Cook your pasta (penne or taglioni) according to instructions.
- Place a skillet on medium-high heat and add your onion, garlic and mushrooms and saute for 5-7 minutes or until softened and the mushrooms are cooked. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, add your blue cheese and mash it with a fork. Add your cream, Marsala and parsley and mix in, set aside.
- When your pasta is ready, reserve some pasta liquid and drain your pasta. Add the pasta to the skillet along with your blue cheese mixture, walnuts and toss to coat. Add some pasta water if the sauce is too thick.
- Grind some fresh ground black pepper (you shouldn’t need any additional salt).
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© 2008, Peter Minakis. All rights reserved. If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://kalofagas.ca then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at truenorth67 AT gmail DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author.
This sound delicious Peter!! I love bkue cheese!! xGloria
Have a nice weekeend!
Both of these are right up my ally. CS hate blue cheese but I love it. Especially on a bacon cheeseburger. But in a salad or pasta like this they are great too.
I can’t decide if I like blue cheese or not, but that pasta dish looks worthy of a try!
Blue cheese, and any stinky cheese for that matter, are my favorites! Your pasta and blue cheese dish is killing me! I’ll take a huge plate of that first and if there’s any room left, eat the salad. I’m all about eating the good stuff first: carbs and fat!
Oh my goodness, that pasta looks positively heavenly… You’ve positively honored the blue cheese with both of your dishes!
Peter, I am lucky I was sitting down when I saw this double recipe posting because as soon as the page opened and I saw and read it, all the blood in my body ran to my tongue and stomach and I almost fainted out cold! :) The salad was great… But the pasta? My eyes sprung about 2 inches outside my skull like a cartoon I tell you!
Hubby and my Mom are the Stilton lovers here. Whenever she visits I have blobs of stinky cheese all over the place. They would absolutely love these dishes. I really like the idea of the apple with the blue cheese!
Again, we’re thinking exactly the same! I’m cooking gnocchi with smoked blue (from an Oregon creamery) and gai lan. In fact, I think my water’s finally come to a boil…
These both look amazing. My DH and I love blue cheese!
Two excellent dishes! We are big blue cheese fans here, although I’m more of a gorgonzola girl. All of those ingredients go so well together! Well done!
I was gone in Florida and now find so many new recipes on your site. I love blue cheese. So both recipes would be my taste.
Oh, Peter how did you know, stilton and apple is my most favorite combo – it just works. As for the pasta, no one around here likes blue cheese that much, so I could have this bowl all to myself….
Two great dishes Peter – I love blue cheese with apples or pears.
Oh gosh, those both look so delicious. I am going to have to try these. Tart fruit and blue cheese go so very well together
Past looks cream and delicious.
I love stilton.
We here have with red port wine after dinner.
Something which i learned from my hubby
I know you were thinking about me when cooking these dishes ;-) I’m your cheese muse… aren’t I?
Walnuts and cheese pair so well together… I’ve been told about that ;-)
Happy weekend Mr. Greek :D
That salad looks absoulutely fabulous. I love the sweetness and the nuttiness paired with the bite of blue cheese!
Those are both some of my favorite dishes. I are always making that salad and love it everytime. I am a stinky cheese fan too.
What nice ways to show off a favorite blue cheese. We have a local cheese in Massachusetts — Great Hill Blue — that is rich and creamy and so delicious in salads.
The blue cheese pasta looks great! Really like the blog too.
I am enjoying the addition of apple and blue cheese together in the salad…and the pasta speaks for itself Peter:D
I do like blue cheese, and these two recipes are a perfect way to enjoy it. Thanks Peter!
Blue cheese – Stilton – hubba hubba – pass the salad and pour me a glass of port and I’m happy for life.
Ps>s Don’t feel blue Peter but I hade entered an event LOOK WHAT I MADE so you have been tagged…I had made your dolmades.
Gloria, thanks hun, you enjoy the weekend as well.
Courtney, keep on testing his tastebuds, he’ll see the light.
Pam, used in measured amounts, blue cheese is wonderful.
White Rice Duo…you must be very hungry! lol
Astra, both dishes were delightful.
Sam, like many of the great pasta dishes, the simple ones always win out.
Judy, blue cheeses and fruits are a wonderful pairing.
Heather, that’s because YOU ROCK!
Jen, thanks…send some to DH!
Sticky, I embrace all the blues.
Helene, welcome back from your vacation.
Happy, welcome back!
Nuria…LOL, si, my cheese muse!
Mary , you described the salad perfectly.
Eat! Rejoice in stinky cheese.
Lydia, lucky you, I’ll have to search for local sources too.
Lizzie, thank you and welcome!
Val, the salad made for a mild lunch.
Lisa, you’re always welcome.
Giz, I’m gonna have to hit the LCBO for some port, indeed!
Nina, I’ve always loved blue cheeses, even as a child.
Jan, It’s a good thing you didn’t add blue to your stifado! lol
Marie, you’ll enjoy both dishes.
I really like blue cheese sauces and blue cheeses go well in salads. Both dishes look and sound really good!
I like the sound of the pasta with blue cheese and walnuts. I love me a piece of smelly blue cheese, and this is the perfect way to serve it.
I have mixed feelings about blue cheese. Served in dip form alongside some wings? Absolutely necessary. In other cases, I just can’t stand it. The pasta looks like my kind of dish for it though (and I love the color!)–I’ll have to give it a try.
Yum! I have been meaning to make a pasta with blue cheese and walnuts for a while and this looks like it! Is it your own recipe?
Kevin, blue cheeses are a wonderful thing.
Cake, long live stinky cheese.
Mike, in measured amounts, blue cheese is wonderful..some restraint and it’s a great ingredient.
Katerina, blue cheese and walnuts are paired often and I added my own take to some Italian recipes out there. I add a few twists.
Blue cheese and walnuts. Great combo!
That’s a beautiful looking salad and the pasta is a knock-out too!
Long live stinky cheese!!
Oh yummy yummy, both the salad and pasta! Apple & blue cheese is delicious. And for blue cheese in pasta is always great “for a change”, and I think the walnuts in there finish up the flavour perfectly. I also love using blue cheese & walnuts with gnocchi too.
Since I’m a blue cheese FANATIC, these both look amazing. The stronger the flavor, the better!
I’d lick the plates on both of these!!
I luuurrve blue cheese, and definitely agree that stinkier is better!
I still have a nice bit of stilton left from last week so I might knock up this pasta tonight – thanks Peter :)
Love stilton and is amazing in pasta!