This Penne with Tomato, Cream & Five Cheeses is like a cross between your best mac & cheese and your favorite baked ziti. Only it’s tastier than either one could ever be.
And, even better, it’s quick and easy. Once it goes in the oven, it’s ready in ten minutes. But don’t take my word for it. Try this one at home. You won’t be sorry.
The original dish premiered at Al Forno, a well-established trattoria in Providence, Rhode Island. This adaptation got my attention while scrolling through pasta recipes on Food52, where it is mentioned that Al Forno switches this up seasonally.
- They’ve been known to add asparagus and lemon zest to the mix or maybe some radicchio and shitake.
- Imagine making this with pumpkin and pancetta for a new addition to your fall rotation.
- Then there’s always the popular broccoli rabe and sausage combo.
If you get the chance, leaf through their cookbook, Cucina Simpatica: Robust Trattoria Cooking From Al Forno. It’s packed full of inspiration.
Is this the same as tomato cream sauce or vodka sauce?
The texture may be close but that’s where the similarities end. The flavor of the final dish is closer to that of a tomato cream sauce. But way better. The combination of the five cheeses is absolutely delicious.
What you’ll need to make your Penne with Tomato, Cream & Five Cheeses…
- Heavy cream – Although you can use either heavy cream or whipping cream, heavy cream is recommended for its slightly higher fat content.
- Canned tomatoes in heavy puree – Chopped or crushed. My preference is to use organic whole San Marzano tomatoes. I crush them with my hands so that there are some rustic chunks throughout.
- Pecorino Romano cheese – Freshly grated. My go-to brand is Locatelli, widely available in most markets.
- Fontina cheese – Coarsely shredded. Fontina is a semi-hard Italian cow’s milk cheese known for its rich, creamy texture and nutty, buttery flavor. The flavor is sometimes described as earthy or mushroomy, with a sharpness that increases with age.
- Gorgonzola cheese – Crumbled. Gorgonzola is a type of blue cheese, specifically a blue-veined cheese from Italy, known for its creamy texture and milder flavor compared to some other blue cheeses.
- Creamy ricotta cheese – Regular whole milk ricotta can be used here with excellent results. For extra creaminess, Galbani makes a double cream ricotta that has twice the cream of regular whole milk ricotta.
- Thinly sliced mozzarella cheese – Low-moisture mozzarella is a good choice here. I like to slice my own from a block of the good stuff.
- Kosher salt – If need be, table salt can be used with caution. Table salt is finer and more dense than kosher salt, so a teaspoon of table salt will contain more actual salt than a teaspoon of kosher salt. When substituting, use about two-thirds the amount of table salt specified in a recipe using kosher salt.
- Fresh basil leaves – Coarsely chopped. Highly recommend that you use fresh basil with its vibrant, sweet and peppery flavor.
- Penne Rigate pasta – I always use pasta imported from Italy to avoid the toxic glyphosate found in most American-made pastas.
- Unsalted butter – Thinly sliced. It is important to use unsalted butter so that the natural butter flavor shines through without the influence of added salt. And you can better control the level of sodium in the final dish.
Look how easy it is to make this Penne with Tomato, Cream & Five Cheeses…
- Preheat oven to 500°F.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
- Combine all ingredients, except pasta and butter, in a large bowl.
- Mix well.
- Drop the pasta into the boiling water and parboil for 4 minutes.
- Drain in a colander and add to the mixture in the large bowl.
- Toss to combine.
You decide if you want to bake this goodness in a large baking dish or as individual servings.
- Divide the pasta mixture among six to eight shallow ceramic gratin dishes of 1 1/2 to 2 cups in capacity.
- Or place in a shallow (1-inch) layer in a very large baking dish.
- Dot with butter. Bake until bubbly and brown on top, about 7 to 10 minutes.
The prep for your Penne with Tomato, Cream & Five Cheeses is minimal.
In the time it takes to par-boil the pasta, your collection of cream, tomatoes, basil and cheese is ready and waiting. Add the drained penne and that’s it.
A note on pasta…
In my household, we now choose organic imported pasta. Exclusively.
One of our favorites is Garofalo Pasta. For this recipe, I use their Penne Ziti Rigate. It’s offered in a six-pack that can be found on Amazon. But, folks …if you happen to have a membership at Costco, definitely look for it there. The last time I found it on their shelf, it was just $9.99 for six pounds of premium organic pasta.
The important point here is that not all pastas are created equally. The folks at Garofalo recommend that you cook their penne for 11 minutes. For this recipe, you’ll parboil the pasta for 4 minutes then it will finish cooking in the oven to perfection. If you have a brand that recommends a different cooking time, be sure to make the necessary adjustment when parboiling.
It’s important to bake this in a large enough dish so that you have a shallow layer measuring about one inch. You’ll have enough to fill a very large baking dish. Or two medium-sized dishes. Or six to eight small ones. You decide what works for you.
I always use my Le Creuset 3-Quart Oval Baker for this recipe. It measures 17.3 x 2 x 10.2 inches allowing for the shallow layer needed for the best outcome.
Once the pasta is arranged in the baking dish, finish it off by dotting the top with pats of butter. You’re now ten minutes away from enjoying your new favorite baked pasta.
Okay. I hear you. This isn’t for those folks who are limiting their calories and fat intake. But once in a while isn’t so bad, right? They say moderation is the key.
This Penne with Tomato, Cream & Five Cheeses is totally worth the splurge.
After hangin’ out in a very hot oven for about ten minutes, the pasta melds with the sauce producing the most flavorful al dente texture. The very top layer ends up with a satisfying “crunch” from the final coating of butter. Perfection.
An added bonus …you can assemble your Penne with Tomato, Cream & Five Cheeses early in the day.
Pop it in the oven when ready to enjoy.
penne with tomato, cream & five cheeses
Adapted from Cucina Simpatica: Robust Trattoria Cooking by Johanne Killeen & George Germon
This Penne with Tomato, Cream & Five Cheeses is like a cross between your best mac & cheese and your favorite baked ziti.
Ingredients
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup chopped canned tomatoes in heavy puree
- 1/2 cup freshly grated pecorino romano cheese (1 1/2 ounces)
- 1/2 cup coarsely shredded fontina cheese (1 1/2 ounces)
- 1/4 cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese (1 1/2 ounces)
- 2 tablespoons ricotta cheese
- 4 ounces thinly sliced mozzarella cheese
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for pasta water
- 6 fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped
- 1 pound penne rigate
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, thinly sliced
Instructions
-
Preheat oven to 500°F.
-
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
-
Combine all ingredients, except pasta and butter, in a large bowl. Mix well.
-
Drop the pasta into the boiling water and parboil for 4 minutes. Drain in a colander and add to the mixture in the large bowl. Toss to combine.
-
Divide the pasta mixture among six to eight shallow ceramic gratin dishes of 1 1/2 to 2 cups in capacity. Or place in a shallow (1-inch) layer in a very large baking dish. Dot with butter. Bake until bubbly and brown on top, about 7 to 10 minutes.
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