Whatever your idea of healthy food is, this dish is about 180 degrees away from that. But it is also insanely delicious – a cheese lover’s dream. And luckily it is so rich that you can’t really eat much of it! I served this as a side at Hunter’s birthday dinner. The other dishes were grilled porterhouse steak and baked/broiled garlic eggplant.  Not a light meal but surely a tasty one and a nice treat (once a year is enough for a meal this rich!)

Rigatoni Quattro Formaggi

This is a pretty easy sauce to make.  You will need four kinds of cheese (hence the name) and the quality of the cheese really is important.  At the market this usually means buying the cheese that has been cut and packaged by the store you’re shopping at, not ones that come in pre-shrink wrapped packages with company labels on them.  The combination of cheeses you use will depend on your preference, but my recommendation is a creamy gorgonzola, pecorino, parmesean and ricotta or mascarpone.  I’ve seen recipes with many other combinations, and even some with swiss, gruyere, or manchego, but I think my combination is great. It has enough strong cheesey flavor but not too much, and the flavors meld well and compliment each other. You’ll need about 4-5 ounces of the gorgonzola, and 6 ounces of the other cheeses.

First, grate the hard cheeses (pecorino and parmesean) and crumble the soft (gorgonzola).  The ricotta or mascarpone doesn’t need any prep.  Heat about 3 tablespoons of butter and a half cup cream in a pot over medium heat until the butter is melted.  Stir to combine fully the two fats.  Then add the cheeses and stir often until they are fully melted and have a creamy, smooth texture.

The gorgonzola will probably have kept some of its texture, but that is good.  Cook the sauce for another 10 minutes on low heat after all the cheese is melted, or until the consistancy is what you are looking for. It should be thicker than heavy cream and should stick to a spoon in a fairly thick coating.

Toss with rigatoni or another tubular pasta and serve at once with a sprinkling of parsley as a garnish.

This dish is rich enough that you won’t be able to eat much birthday cake!