Pasta ai quattro formaggi, or “4 Cheese Pasta,” is a basic dish that Italians eat once they’re actually within the temper for cheese! It’s a quite simple and quick dish to make, because the sauce could be made in a couple of minutes whereas the pasta boils.
Though penne is the standard selection of pasta form, you could wish to contemplate pairing this sauce with recent, do-it-yourself gnocchi. Doing so will lead to a dish from Valle D’Aosta, often called “Gnocchi alla Bava.”
Which Cheeses to Use for Quattro Formaggi Sauce
The purpose of mixing 4 completely different cheeses into one sauce is to create a balanced, easy taste. The most typical selections for the 4 cheeses are:
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Gorgonzola – This highly effective, moldy cheese supplies a lot of the tacky kick within the sauce. You’ll be able to select between “mushy/candy” or “agency/spicy” gorgonzola, the latter having a stronger style.
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Taleggio – This can be a mushy cheese with a consistency much like brie. It’s an awesome cheese for melting right into a sauce, therefore its inclusion.
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Emmental – Often known as “Swiss cheese.” That is the mildest of the 4 cheeses, and helps to mix all of the flavors collectively.
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Parmigiano Reggiano – The King of Cheeses, Parmigiano is form of just like the seasoning cheese that helps deliver out all the different flavors.
These cheeses could be substituted however attempt to hold the identical stability of a powerful moldy cheese, a really mushy cheese, a gentle mixing cheese, and Parmigiano (which you need to actually attempt to stick with). As an example, the gorgonzola could be changed with a Rochefort, or the taleggio could be changed with brie.
Watch the Pasta Grammar video:
PASTA AI QUATTRO FORMAGGI RECIPE
Makes: 3 to 4 servings
Cook dinner Time: 20 minutes
For this recipe, you will want:
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Salt
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12 ounces (340 g) penne pasta, or 3-4 servings of recent, do-it-yourself gnocchi
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1 tablespoon (15 g ) unsalted butter
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1.5 ounces (40 g) gorgonzola cheese, reduce into small chunks
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1.75 ounces (50 g) taleggio cheese, reduce into small chunks
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1.75 ounces (50 g) emmental Swiss cheese, grated
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1.5 ounces (40 g) Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated, plus further for topping
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½ cup (120 ml) entire milk, or to style
Convey a big pot of water to a rolling boil and salt it generously. Add the penne pasta and cook dinner as directed on the field, or till “al dente” to your style. Whereas the pasta boils, you’ll be able to put together the sauce.
Word: If you’re cooking dry pasta, comparable to penne, begin boiling the pasta earlier than making the sauce. If you’re cooking recent pasta, comparable to gnocchi, make the sauce first and hold it heat over very low warmth when you boil the pasta. Gnocchi solely takes a couple of minutes to cook dinner, and is completed when all the items float to the floor of the water.
In a big pan, soften the butter over medium/low warmth. As soon as the butter is melted, flip the warmth all the way down to low and add the gorgonzola, taleggio, Swiss cheese, and about half the milk. Stir till the cheeses have utterly melted, then stir within the Parmigiano Reggiano.
Regularly stir extra milk into the sauce till you obtain a consistency you want; the sauce could be made thicker by utilizing much less milk or thinner by utilizing extra.
At this level, the sauce is completed. Preserve it heat over very low warmth whereas the pasta cooks, giving it a fast stir from time to time.
When the pasta is al dente, flip the sauce warmth as much as medium/low and use a slotted ladle to switch the pasta into the sauce. Stir all collectively till the pasta is absolutely coated in tacky sauce. Serve and eat instantly, topped with some further grated Parmigiano Reggiano.
Buon appetito!
