Tagliatelle with gorgonzola, pear and walnut

This is a simple but memorable pasta dish for winter.

Tagliatelle with pear, gorgonzola and walnut.

The fruit adds a delicate sweetness that cuts through the intense richness of the creamy, peppery cheese sauce. Serve with a chicory salad with mustard dressing and follow with the rich chocolate chestnut cake, which can be made a day or two ahead – perfect for entertaining.

Tagliatelle with gorgonzola, pear & walnut

350g tagliatelle

80ml single cream

450g Gorgonzola, chopped

1 large (or 2 small) ripe but firm pears

Handful whole walnuts

Fine sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil; add pasta and cook until al dente. Meanwhile, pour cream into a small saucepan, add cheese and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until cheese has almost completely melted. Core pear and slice finely; roughly chop nuts. Drain pasta, reserving a little cooking water (about ¼ cup). Stir cheese sauce and reserved cooking water through pasta; just before serving, toss through the pear and walnut pieces. Add a little black pepper, if you like, and serve immediately. Serves 4

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Flourless chocolate cake.

Flourless chocolate, chestnut & rosemary cake

Salted butter, for the tin

500g sweetened chestnut purée*

4 eggs

75g ground almonds

40g cocoa powder

Leaves from 4 rosemary sprigs, plus extra sprigs for the top

Icing sugar, to dust

Heat oven to 160C (fan). Butter a 20cm round cake tin and line with baking paper. Put chestnut purée into a large mixing bowl. Separate eggs; lightly beat yolks with a fork, then add them to the purée. Add almonds and cocoa and mix well. Roughly chop rosemary and add to the batter, then stir until well combined.

In a second bowl, whisk egg whites until stiff, then fold into chocolate mix. Pour into the tin and sprinkle on a few rosemary sprigs. Bake for 40-45 minutes until a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin, then turn out and dust with icing sugar. Serves 8-10

*Cans or jars of chestnut purée are available from selected supermarkets and delis. If you can only find the unsweetened variety, use 400g, whisking it lightly with 100g icing sugar, until smooth, before you begin this recipe.

Edited extract from A Table for Friends: The Art of Cooking for Two or Twenty by Skye McAlpine (Bloomsbury, $49.99), out August 4. Photography: Skye McAlpine