Creamy blue cheese pasta with pears, tonight's answer to a bare shelf. Gorgonzola melts into butter and pasta water to make a sauce that needs only fruit and greens to feel whole. Tangy, fast, and the kind of thing tired cooks dream about.

Serves 2. 20 minutes, 15 at the stove.

About 680 calories a serving, 24 g protein, 78 g carbohydrate, 30 g fat. From USDA figures for 100% of the ingredients; amounts are the recipe's.

Cook mode

1. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook 6 oz pasta until one minute shy of tender. Reserve one cup of the cooking water before draining.10 min
2. While pasta cooks, cut one firm pear into thin slices or matchsticks and toss with a pinch of salt in a bowl.
3. Set the empty pot over medium heat and melt 2 tablespoons butter, then stir in 4 oz gorgonzola crumbled and one-quarter cup of the pasta water until the cheese dissolves into a loose sauce, about two minutes. Add the drained pasta and toss gently, adding more pasta water if the sauce seems thick.3 min
4. Season with salt and pepper, then divide between two bowls. Top each with half the pear slices and a handful of bitter greens dressed lightly with salt and pepper.

Note Swap pear for apple, or omit the fruit and top with walnuts and sage instead. Leftovers keep three days; reheat gently with a splash of water. Serve with bread to soak up the sauce.