Pasta alla cenere (pasta with Gorgonzola and black olive sauce)
- Very easy
- 25 min
- Kcal 534
Paccheri with gorgonzola and pepper with red prawns is, to be honest, one dish that will really really wake up your taste buds. Big, chunky paccheri tubes soak up every bit of the creamy sauce. Really good stuff. This paccheri recipe hails from Campania, where folks like their pasta shapes bold and their sauces just right.
So here's the thing: what makes this dish different is the way it mixes the strong, sharp notes of Gorgonzola—one of Italy’s famous blue cheeses—with the light, sweet bite of Mediterranean red prawns. Add some freshly cracked black pepper, and you get a little tangy kick. For sure. It's a classic move in Italian cooking: taking something from the land, like rich cheese, and mixing it with seafood for a special kind of harmony you don’t get every day.
The richness of the cheese and the freshness of the prawns make each bite so so delightful. Across Southern Italy, generous pasta shapes like paccheri aren’t just for show—they’re built to catch all that moist, velvety sauce. And you know what, the way the red prawns pasta and cheese come together is a real nod to Mediterranean cooking, where people love to mix flavors from the land and sea. Not your average seafood pasta.
It’s a dish that feels comforting yet kinda fancy. People in Campania know how to balance strong flavors. Pretty much. The tender prawns mellow out the boldness of the Gorgonzola, and that toasted black pepper gives you an extra layer of taste that lingers. Whether you’re into seafood pasta recipes or love trying new gorgonzola cheese recipes, this one brings something special to the table.
Honestly, it’s the kind of food that works for a laid-back dinner but still feels like you’re treating yourself. Thanks to all those flavors that hang around on your palate. When you sit down with a plate of this, you get a taste of Southern Italy’s best traditions—big pasta, big flavor, and a perfect blend of sea and land. Enjoy the savory experience of this Italian dish, and let the Campania-inspired flavors transport you to a beautiful coastal evening in Italy.
To make the paccheri with gorgonzola and pepper with red prawns, first clean the prawns, setting the head aside 1 and removing the shell and the vein. Remove the eyes with scissors 2 and place the heads in a tall glass 3.
Season with the oil 4 and blend with an immersion blender 5 to create an emulsion 6.
Once you obtain a smooth consistency, pass the mixture through a sieve 7 thus obtaining a concentrated red prawn sauce 8. Season the prawns with salt, oil and lemon zest 9.
Toast the ground pepper in a pan over low heat for a few minutes 10. Take care of the sauce: in a small saucepan pour the cream 11 and the gorgonzola 12.
Stir with a whisk 13 and season with three quarters of the previously toasted pepper 14. You should obtain a thick and homogeneous sauce 15.
It's time to cook the paccheri in salted boiling water 16. Transfer the gorgonzola sauce to a larger saucepan or a skillet and, if necessary, add a little of the cooking water 17. With 2 minutes remaining, transfer the paccheri into the gorgonzola sauce 18.
Toss over medium heat to finish cooking the pasta and make it nice and creamy 19. Plate the paccheri 20 with the gorgonzola sauce 21.
Finish with the red prawns 22, the lemon zest 23, a few drops of the prawn cream and the remaining toasted pepper. The paccheri with gorgonzola and pepper with red prawns are ready to serve 34.