Strascinati Pugliesi with Gorgonzola Cream Sauce & Crisp Candied Bacon :: Another Food for a Year recipe for Sinkology!

With the first bite, this delicious pasta will knock the socks right off of your feet — or at least it will make you want to lick your bowl, the serving spoon and the saucepot. It buckled my knees – in that “did I just make this?!” sort of way that happens when I strike recipe gold.

Maybe it was because of the misty, dark fall weather we have been experiencing, or because I had missed lunch and was beyond the point of hungry or maybe ((which is what I believe to be the case)) it was because that first bite was unexpectedly “fancy restaurant quality” within the Italian border g.o.o.d. Whatever the reason, with the taste & simple preparation of this meal, I knew – this would be the December recipe for Sinkology.

As tasty as this recipe is, it is equally easy to make. Just grab:

• your favorite type of pasta
• a wedge of gorgonzola
• heavy cream
• a pinch of cane sugar
• black pepper
• a handful of fresh chives & Italian parsley

I prefer a shape of pasta that is able hold onto a lot of sauce – like this Strascinati Pugliesi. The Strascinati Pugliesi acts like little bowls for the gorgonzola cream sauce, maximizing my sauce to pasta ratio ((yes, the sauce has always been my favorite part!)). Amazon is a good resource for these lesser known specialty pastas, but if you can’t get your hands on this variety, farfalle, campanelle and fusilli ((just to name a few)) are excellent choices as well.

Now for the longest, and truthfully hardest part of this recipe — boiling the pasta. You know it is a manageable recipe if cooking the pasta is the gauge of difficulty!! Simply boil 8 ounces of dried pasta according to the package directions. While the pasta is boiling, add the cream, gorgonzola, black pepper and a pinch of sugar to a medium saucepan, over a medium flame. Once the cheese is fully incorporated into the sauce, set the sauce aside until the pasta is cooked to perfection & drained

Once the pasta is drained, one minute ((maybe 2 if you’re slow)) stands between you and dinner! Combine the sauce and the pasta, add a handful of chopped fresh herbs AND if you are wanting an extra treat, top with a heap of candied bacon crumbles. The candied bacon sounds much harder to make than it really is ((3 ingredients and 25 minutes in the oven is it!)), and that added salty/sweet crunch really puts this dish over the top. Check out the entire Candied Pepper Bacon recipe over at Food for a Year.

I am happy to have the opportunity to share this complete recipe and several others on the Sinkology Blog. For the remainder of my post & the complete recipe – please visit my post on Sinkology  :: HERE.