Pasta Salad with blue cheese

I've always hated the term: it takes an acquired taste. I've always thought it was silly to keep on eating stuff you didn't like until you liked it. What, you can't accept there's food on this planet you just don't like? Is it a competition between you and the food: damn it... I wíll get to like you... I don't care how often I will have to try you?

I also thought it was a very pretentious term, since it usually applies to 'fancy' stuff like wine, olives, abstract art and jazz.

But over the years I've gotten to appreciate wine, olives and abstract art. Thanks to exposure and the willingness to try, or the unwillingness to look like a bloody peasant in a fancy restaurant. Jazz and I still aren't friends though.

The acquired taste certainly goes for blue cheese. The first look, the first smell and if you dare, the first taste kind of makes a person want to gag. It's creepy looking. There's mould on it. Who in their right mind would eat something with mould on it? Yet, as off putting as it may be in the beginning, the more you try blue cheese, the more you like it. In a dish, or just by itself with a nice red wine, that has also taken an acquired taste. The things we do for our stomach.

This blue cheese salad is somewhat of a classic. For lunch or for diner after a warm summer's day, it's easy and quick to make and very lovely.

Kitchen utensils

• pan
• small bowl for mixing vinaigrette (if you don't buy ready made)
• small whisk or fork for mixing vinaigrette
• bowl
• knife

Ingredients

• farfalle pasta (aka butterfly pasta or bow-tie pasta)
• mixed salad leaves
• blue cheese (Gorgonzola, Roquefort, Stilton, Danish blue. I used Cambonzola, but only because it was the only one in the store without rennet at that moment. Cambonzola is smooth (it's a brie) and milder than Danish Blue or Gorgonzola. It might actually be a good one to start with if you've never had blue cheese.)
• white grapes or pear (both are nice with blue cheese. I used the grapes this time.)
• almonds (with or without salt. The salty ones are nice, but blue cheese can be quite salty so you might want to watch your blood pressure.)
• vinaigrette: you can use a ready made vinaigrette from the supermarket like a sweet raspberry vinaigrette. I made mine with grape pit oil, apple juice, red wine vinegar (because I was out of white wine vinegar) and some salt. Just make it a sweet vinaigrette. The cheese has a sharp and salty taste and the sweetness of the vinaigrette is a nice contrast.

Cook pasta as indicated on pack. Keep it al dente, nice and firm. When done, run under cold tap, stir in a little bit of (olive) oil so they won't stick together and let it cool further in the fridge. Chop or crumble cheese, make vinaigrette and mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. Ready to serve!