| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 1 hr 5 min |
| Active: | 30 min |
| Yield: | 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 5 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
- 3 large, full stems basil
- Three 14-ounce cans peeled cherry tomatoes
- 1 carrot, peeled and halved
- 8 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano rind, cut into 3-inch pieces
- Kosher salt
- 1 pound penne rigate pasta
- 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for serving
- 3 to 4 tablespoons butter
Instructions
- Heat a medium nonreactive saucepan over medium-high heat. Add 1/3 cup of the oil and the garlic, and reduce the heat to medium. Cook the garlic, stirring often and mashing gently with a wooden spoon, until golden brown and beginning to soften, 5 minutes. Add the basil, tomatoes and their juices, the carrots and cheese rinds. Stir with a wooden spoon to combine. Bring to a simmer and adjust the heat to maintain a simmer. Cook for 35 minutes stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Add 1 teaspoon of the salt. Remove from the heat and cool slightly.
- Remove the rinds, carrots and basil. At this point you can use an immersion blender to puree slightly or leave it as a chunky sauce.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the penne 2 minutes less than the package directions. Meanwhile, rewarm the sauce in a large, straight-sided skillet set over medium heat. Using a spider, strain the pasta from the water and add it directly into the pan with sauce, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Before stirring, sprinkle the pasta with the grated cheese. Toss the pasta, cheese and sauce together. Add the butter, the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and the reserved pasta water and continue to cook until the sauce is creamy and the pasta is al dente. Serve topped with more cheese if desired.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 6 servings |
| Calories | 722 |
| Total Fat | 38 g |
| Saturated Fat | 15 g |
| Carbohydrates | 67 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 7 g |
| Sugar | 8 g |
| Protein | 30 g |
| Cholesterol | 52 mg |
| Sodium | 932 mg |
Reviews
Fantastic sauce. Did anyone try to freeze it? Just curious if it was still this great after couple of months in the freezer.
This recipe was delicious and very easy to make. My family enjoyed this simple and flavorful entree. Definitely use all the ingredients listed for this recipe as it enhances the flavor. I watched the video of Giada making this recipe first and it does differ slightly from the written instructions. For example, when she sautees the garlic in the olive oil, she adds the halved peeled carrot and sautees it along with the garlic before adding the tomatoes, basil etc. The directions indicate to add the tomatoes, carrot, cheese rinds, and basil all at once. So be sure to watch the video first. Beautiful presentation and tasted even better the next day!
Yummy and simple! The sauce super flavorful and creamy. It really isn’t hard to make at all but don’t leave our any ingredients! I would definitely recommend using an immersion blender to get it nice and smooth
I made this for my kids and I and it was perfect! Such amazing rounded flavor, totally unexpected and will be making an appearance at our dinner table for years to come. Thank you!!
I’m writing this review while eating this dish! Easy, yummy and even kinda fun to make! I came across this recipe while watching Giada in Italy and had heard of carrots being used, but never parm rinds! I was also amazed at how easy it was. I’ve wanted to up my Italian game and I’ve been wanting to start with the basics, and this was a great dish to start with.
I have bought the peeled cherry tomatoes at Eataly before, but, alas, I was unable to get them at Whole Foods nor my locally owned, boutique-y market. I used canned, peeled “regular” tomatoes and it was still yummy. I’ll get the cherry tomatoes next time and order them online.
I also didn’t have any Parmigiano-Reggiano rind, but, it turns out the cheese department at Whole Foods had them! I was able to get them via delivery on Amazon Whole Foods. Game changer, for sure. It added not only a bit more earthiness, but also some contributed to the creaminess (in addition to the extra Parm at the end).
I added some chili pepper flakes at serving and enjoyed it with a side salad and garlic Texas Toast.
Easy peasy. Plenty of leftovers to enjoy with a salad for the week! Ciao!
So easy and so tasty!!! It’s a favorite, for sure. I added a little crushed red pepper to mine because I like spice but it was also great without it. It would also be good with some baby mozzarella cheese melted in. Yummy!
Easy and tasty!
This is SO good, and easy! I did not have carrots on hand, and imagine it would take the meal up a notch – but even without it? AMAZING. A keeper for sure.
Delicious and easy to make
Not what I was looking for. I have an idea how to make this but forgot some of the ingredients. So I was just looking for help to remember the ingredients.