Pasta dish with blue cheese sauce, walnuts a real winner

Fusilli with Blue Cheese and Toasted Walnuts is made with just five ingredients, but the combination is a winner. Pasta curls are tossed with a rich blue-cheese sauce, sweet green peas and toasted walnuts.

The recipe, which takes about 25 minutes to make, is from the “Good Housekeeping 100 Best Pasta Recipes” (Hearst Books, 2003, $14.95), a treasure trove of dishes the cook can have on the table, start to finish, in many cases in under half an hour.

The book offers a range of options, with recipes for using meat, fish or cheese with pasta, and suggestions for accompaniments to serve with your pasta, including soups, sandwiches and salads.

Fusilli with Blue Cheese and Toasted Walnuts

Salt

16-ounce package fusilli or corkscrew pasta

2/3 cup half-and-half or light cream

1/2 cup water

3/4 cup crumbled blue cheese (3 ounces) plus additional 1/4 cup (1 ounce) for garnish

10-ounce package frozen peas, thawed

3/4 cup walnuts, toasted (see note) and chopped

1/4 teaspoon salt

Fresh parsley sprigs for garnish (optional)

Heat large saucepot of salted water to boiling over high heat; add fusilli and cook as label directs.

Meanwhile, in 1-quart saucepan, heat half-and-half, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and water to simmering over medium heat. Stir in 3/4 cup crumbled blue cheese; heat through.

Place peas in a colander; drain the fusilli over peas.

In large serving bowl, toss pasta mixture with blue-cheese sauce and walnuts. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese and parsley sprigs, if you like.

Yield: 4 main-dish servings.

Approximate nutrition per serving: 765 calories, 28 grams fat (9 grams saturated, 33 percent fat calories), 28 grams protein, 101 grams carbohydrate, 34 milligrams cholesterol, 730 milligrams sodium.