caramelised tomato penne with whipped ricotta

for when “just popping over for a drink” becomes “you may as well stay for dinner.”

Ingredients

Whipped ricotta

• 400g full-fat smooth ricotta

• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

• Pinch of salt 

• Freshly cracked black pepper

Caramelised tomato penne

• 500g San Remo Penne

• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 2 shallots (or 1 small brown), very finely diced

• 4 garlic cloves, finely grated 

• 1 tsp Aleppo chilli (or chilli flakes), to taste

• 120g tomato paste

• 50g unsalted butter, divided

• 60g finely grated parmesan, plus extra to serve

• Sea salt

• Freshly cracked black pepper

• Basil leaves, to serve

• Extra virgin olive oil, to serve

Method

1. Add the ricotta, olive oil, lemon zest, salt and pepper to a bowl and whisk until smooth. You can also use a hand mixer or stick blender if you prefer. It doesn’t have to be perfectly smooth, just light and air rated. Refrigerate until you're ready to serve.

2. Bring a large pot of generously salted water to the boil. Add the penne and cook until about 2 minutes shy of al dente according to the packet instructions. Before draining, reserve at least 500ml of pasta water. Don’t forget this bit!

3. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil and half of the butter in a large, wide frying pan over medium-low heat. Add the onion with a pinch of salt and cook for 5 minutes, stirring regularly, until very soft and translucent. Add the garlic and chilli, and cook for another 60 seconds, just until fragrant.

4. Add all the tomato paste and stir it through the onion mixture. Cook over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. It should gradually change from bright red to a deep brick red. Don't rush this stage by cranking the heat.

5. Add approximately 200ml hot pasta water to the pan, a little at a time, stirring and scraping up everything from the base until it becomes a smooth, glossy red sauce.

6. Add the drained penne straight to the pan. Increase the heat to medium and toss the pasta through the sauce for a couple of minutes, adding additional pasta water about 50ml at a time as needed.

7. Remove from heat. Add the remaining butter and parmesan and toss vigorously until melted and emulsified.

8. Plate immediately onto a platter. Take the whipped ricotta from the fridge and spoon one generous dollop right into the centre and finish with a puddle of EVOO, if that’s your thing. 

Serves 4 hungry people

This recipe was developed as part of a paid partnership with San Remo.