Penne alla Casa (Penne in Creamy Tomato Sauce)
Penne alla Casa is a quick pasta that turns marinara into a rich, creamy sauce with a few pantry additions. Heavy cream is reduced with sun-dried tomatoes and a generous quarter cup of garlic, then finished with sharp Pecorino Romano and wilted spinach. The cheese adds salty bite that keeps the cream from tasting flat, and the spinach goes in at the end so it stays green. It serves four in about an hour.
Instructions
Heat the olive oil in a large pot over high heat. Add the garlic and cook for about 1 minute, just until it starts to brown. Watch it closely, because burnt garlic turns bitter.
Pour in the cream, add the sun-dried tomatoes, and bring everything to a boil. Stir in the marinara sauce.
Keep cooking, stirring now and then, until the sauce has thickened and reduced by about one-fourth. It should coat the back of a spoon.
Season with salt, pepper and granulated garlic to your taste. Fold in the spinach and Pecorino Romano and heat only until the spinach wilts and the cheese melts.
Add the drained penne to the pot, toss until every piece is coated, and serve hot.
Make it personal.
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