| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 30 min |
| Prep: | 15 min |
| Cook: | 15 min |
| Yield: | 6 servings |
Ingredients
- Kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing
- 1/2 pound pancetta, trimmed of excess fat and diced
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 fennel bulb, trimmed and thinly sliced
- 1 28-ounce can whole plum tomatoes
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 12 ounces penne
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese (about 2 1/2 ounces)
- 2 cups grated mozzarella cheese (about 8 ounces)
- 1 3/4 cups grated fontina cheese (about 6 ounces)
Instructions
- Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 450. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pancetta and cook, stirring, until the fat renders, 2 to 3 minutes. Pour off the fat, leaving about 1 tablespoon in the pan. Add the onion and fennel and cook until the fennel is soft, about 5 minutes. Crush the tomatoes into the pan with your hands, then pour in the juices from the can and bring to a simmer. Fill the empty can with 1/2 cup of the boiling water and add to the sauce. Stir in the cream and simmer while you cook the pasta.
- Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook until al dente. Drain and add to the sauce. Stir in the basil and 1/2 cup parmesan. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil, season with salt and toss.
- Oil a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Layer the pasta, mozzarella, fontina and the remaining 1/2 cup parmesan in the dish, alternating pasta and cheese. Drizzle with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Bake, uncovered, until browned and bubbly, about 15 minutes.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 757 |
| Total Fat | 45 grams |
| Saturated Fat | 22 grams |
| Cholesterol | 117 milligrams |
| Sodium | 939 milligrams |
| Carbohydrates | 56 grams |
| Dietary Fiber | 6 grams |
| Protein | 33 grams |
Reviews
This recipe is so good, A++
One of the best recipes ever. A true favorite
Giada is my favorite! But sorry I did not care for this one. Followed the recipe exactly.
This was a big hit with the whole family! My husband was a bit skeptical about the fennel, but he said it was perfect, not the least bit overpowering. I added about 6oz each arugula and baby spinach when I added the basil because I’m always trying to sneak in more green veggies. I thought the extra green looked nice too. We’ ll definitely have this again!
WOW! This dish will definitely be on the table at my next dinner party! Amazing flavors! I have never cooked w/ fennel bulb or fontina cheese before, but I will be using a lot of them in the future! The 30 minute prep is misleading…more like an hour w/all the chopping and shredding. Also, let the casserole rest for at least 30 min. after removing from the oven. Thank you FN!
Tried this last night, used one 5 oz. block of the fontina (which is half of what the cheesemonger told me I’d need. Didn’t bother to measure the parmesan, just sprinkled it on. It was delicious! All the kids ate it too!
Easy and super tasty. It was very rich though so I will definitely try it with less cheese, half and half instead of heavy cream and less pancetta. Hopefully it will have the same flavor but be healthier. The fennel was amazing in it and cooked up very soft. Great for a crowd and to make ahead of time then pop in oven just before serving.
Made this tonight and my family loved it, even my 20 month old! All in all it was really easy and best of all it had wonderful flavor. This recipe is definately going on the favorites list!
My boyfriend and I made this. It was surprisingly really good. We had been trying a ton of new recipes and this is one of the best ones yet. It took us about forty minutes to make. We had never prepared fennel before so we had to search online to figure out how to use it. Finding fennel for this dish was the hardest thing for us. We went to four different grocery stores looking for it. Fennel is also called “anise”. Just an FYI for anyone who’s inexperienced with using fennel like we were. So enjoy! 🙂
Surprisingly great pasta dish! Skeptical at first b/c of the fennel, but definitely worth a try. I make once a month now and all of our friends have asked for the recipe.