Pear, Gorgonzola, and Walnut Agnolotti

Before we go further, please note that we won’t cover how to make agnolotti (the easiest filled pasta shape ever) in this post. Yes, we know that it’s in the title, but, this post is really about making the filling for the agnolotti, not making the agnolotti itself. If you think this is unfair, rest easy; we have a tutorial on shaping agnolotti (and instructions for a whole bunch of other shapes of pasta), so you can make them, too.

This really developed in a round-about way. We’d picked up a variety of Italian cheeses from a small local shop here in Tucson for a luncheon we catered, and, we had some Gorgonzola dolce left over. It wasn’t much, just about 2 ounces; we could have had it with crackers, or even on salads, but, instead, we came up with the idea of making a filled pasta. We were lucky, because Italians have been working with this cheese for a long, long, time, and they’ve figured out what goes best with Gorgonzola cheese. That meant we’d make a filling by adding pear and walnut to the Gorgonzola.

Ingredient discussion:

Gorgonzola dolce is not the same as Gorgonzola. Instead of being crumbly, like ordinary Gorgonzola, it’s smooth and creamy. It’s still a strong blue cheese, and you can probably use either for this recipe. Since there’s no egg in this filling to act as a binder, we really think you need to work in some bread crumbs. It shouldn’t be a problem if your pear is ripe.

Procedure in detail:

Toast walnuts. Toasting nuts is the best and easiest way to improve flavor. We have two methods, both of which work equally well. When we have a small amount of nuts to toast, we place them in a small skillet over medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring or shaking often. When we have a lot of nuts, they go on a baking sheet in a 350°F oven for about 10-15 minutes, stirring often. With either method, watch them carefully so they don’t burn.

Process. Easy peasy: simply place the cheese, nuts, and pear in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse a few times to get the nuts started, then switch it on and let it run for a bit. At least long enough so that there aren’t any big chunks of nuts. If needed, scrape down the sides of the bowl from time to time.

Add bread crumbs. Add at least some bread crumbs, maybe two tablespoons, and pulse them in. Process a bit longer, then check the consistency. We drag a rubber spatula through the filling to see if it holds its shape and no liquids seep out. If yours doesn’t pass the test, add more bread crumbs and repeat the test.

Season. Taste the filling. It’ll probably taste a bit bland even with the blue cheese, but you can fix that right up with some S&P. Add salt and pepper, pulse to incorporate, taste, and repeat until the filling tastes great.

Fill pasta. We find it easiest to fill pasta by piping the filling. You get much better control of the amount and placement than you would with a spoon. That said, people have made filled pasta for hundreds of years, so, whatever you do will be fine. We will suggest that the easiest filled pasta to make is agnolotti; we can fill 4 dozen in about 20 minutes.

Cook pasta. For fresh filled pasta, bring a large amount of salted water to a simmer — not a boil or the pasta will burst — and simmer the pasta until it floats, plus 1 additional minute. Scoop from the water with a slotted spoon and stir into your chosen sauce. We simply melted butter and stirred in peas, topping with Parmigiano-Reggiano.

We loved using this filling for pasta! It’s full of flavor, slightly sweet to counter the taste of the blue cheese, and the walnuts add a bit of savoriness. We worried a bit about how well the filling would hold together without something like an egg to bind it together as it cooked. We shouldn’t have. It worked perfectly, making a solid pasta filling. Yes, we know that filling pasta takes time, but this filling is super simple to make, so we’ll give it five stars.