Penne With 5 Cheeses Ala Barefoot Contessa Ina Garten Recipes

PENNE ARRABIATA

Steps:

• In a medium (10-inch) pot or Dutch oven, such as Le Creuset, warm the olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and cook for 10 to 12 minutes, tossing occasionally, until the garlic has softened and is lightly browned.
• Meanwhile, drain the tomatoes, place them in a food processor fitted with the steel blade, and pulse until they're roughly chopped. With a slotted spoon, transfer the garlic to the food processor and pulse again to chop the garlic. Pour the tomato mixture into the pot with the olive oil, add the fennel, red pepper flakes, red wine, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 teaspoon black pepper. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 30 minutes. Stir in the basil, taste for seasonings (it will be very spicy!), and keep warm over very low heat.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a full boil. Add 2 tablespoons kosher salt and the penne and cook according to the directions of the package.
• Two minutes before the pasta is al dente, using a wire or spider strainer, lift the pasta out of the boiling water and add it to the sauce, along with 1/4 cup of the pasta water. Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, until the pasta is al dente. Spoon the pasta into low shallow bowls, sprinkle with extra basil and Parmesan cheese, and serve hot.

PENNE WITH 5 CHEESES ALA BAREFOOT CONTESSA - INA GARTEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 500°F.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook penne for just 4 minutes (or until barely al dente, as it will cook more in the oven); drain well.
• Meanwhile, in a very large mixing bowl, combine the cream, crushed tomatoes, cheeses and basil.
• On the show, very fresh buffalo mozzarella was used, and it was cut into slices and then slivered (much like a julienne); I'm sure shredded mozzarella would work just fine.
• Add cooked, drained penne to sauce and stir well.
• On the show, individual shallow serving dishes were filled with the pasta; I'm sure this could be done in a shallow casserole dish too, such as a 13x9 pan.
• Either fill individual dishes with pasta, as above, or fill an entire shallow dish, then dot butter over surface in small pieces.
• Bake in preheated oven for 7 to 10 minutes, until top is browned.
• On the show, the individual dishes were then refrigerated, uncovered, so that they could be reheated later in the evening; unfortunately, no information was given as to how the dish should be reheated (oven temp, time, etc) so, really, your guess is as good as mine.

PENNE WITH FIVE CHEESES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.
• Bring 5 quarts of salted water to a boil in a stockpot.
• Combine all the ingredients except the penne and butter in a large mixing bowl. Mix well.
• Drop the penne into the boiling water and parboil for 4 minutes. Drain well in a colander and add to the ingredients in the mixing bowl, tossing to combine.
• Divide the pasta mixture among 6 shallow ceramic gratin dishes (1 1/2 to 2-cup capacity). Dot with the butter and bake until bubbly and brown on top, 7 to 10 minutes.