Penne with Tomato, Cream & Five Cheeses

By Peggio

Al Forno's Penne with Tomato, Cream & Five Cheeses recipe from food52
You won't meet a speedier baked pasta, not one that's this good. The recipe as written is genius, but even more genius is the fact that the technique can be reapplied in countless ways.

Ingredients

• This recipe serves 4, or 6 to 8 as an appetizer
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup chopped canned tomatoes in heavy puree
• 1/2 cup freshly grated pecorino Romano cheese, (1 1/2 ounces)
• 1/2 cup coarsely shredded (1 1/2 ounces) Fontina cheese
• 1/4 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese, (1 1/2 ounces)
• 2 tablespoons ricotta cheese
• 1/4 pound thinly sliced mozzarella cheese
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for pasta water
• 6 fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped
• 1 pound penne rigate or conchiglie rigate
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, sliced thinly

Preparation

Step 1

Heat oven to 500 degrees.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients except the pasta and butter. Stir well to combine.
Drop the pasta into the boiling water and parboil for 4 minutes.
Drain in a colander and add to the ingredients in the mixing bowl, tossing to combine.
Divide the pasta mixture among six to eight shallow ceramic gratin dishes (1 1/2 to 2 cups in capacity) or place in a shallow (1-inch) layer in larger baking dishes.
Dot with the butter, and bake until bubbly and brown on top, 7 to 10 minutes.