I stole this recipe for Baked Penne & Mushrooms from a cookbook called Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy: A Feast of 175 Regional Recipes. This recipe is a yummy baked Italian pasta dish. Fresh mushrooms are cooked in a cheese sauce made of a variety of Italian cheeses. Cooked penne pasta is added in and the mixture is placed in a casserole dish. Then the pasta is topped with more cheese and baked in the oven. A cheese lover’s dream pasta dish!
Did you know? Penne is Italian for “pens” or “quills.” They are diagonally-cut smooth tubes. Penne rigate have ridged sides.¹ (see more trivia in the Trivia tab)
Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 400 F. Fill a pasta pot with 6 quarts water, add 1 tbsp salt, and heat to boil. Shred the 8 oz fontina and toss with ½ cup of the grana (grated Grana Padaron or Parmigano-Reggiano). Set aside.
Put 3 tbsp butter in a big skillet, and set it over medium-high heat. When the butter begins to bubble, drop in 1 pound fresh mushroom slices, stir with the melted butter, season with 1 tsp salt, and spread the mushrooms out to cover the pan bottom.
Let the mushrooms heat, without stirring, until they release their liquid and it comes to a boil.
Cook the mushrooms, stirring occasionally, as they shrivel and the liquid rapidly evaporates. When the skillet bottom is completely dry, stir 1 cup half and half into the mushrooms.
Continue stirring as the sauce comes to a boil. Cook it rapidly for a minute or two to thicken slightly, then keep it warm over very low heat.
Meanwhile, stir the penne into the boiling pasta water and cook until barely al dente. Ladle a cup of the pasta cooking water into the mushroom sauce and stir.
Drain the pasta briefly, and drop into the cream-and-mushroom sauce. Toss the penne until all are nicely coated, then sprinkle over a ½ cup of grana (not from the mixture that is already set aside).
Toss to blend with 2 tbsp fresh chopped Italian parsley. Coat the bottom and sides of a baking dish with 1 tbsp of butter. Empty the skillet into the dish, spreading the penne and sauce to fill the dish completely in a uniform layer.
Smooth the top, and sprinkle the mixed fontina-grana that was set aside evenly all over.
Set the dish in the oven, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the cheese topping is crusty and deep golden brown and the sauce is bubbling at the edges.
Scoop out the pasta and enjoy the cheesy goodness of the baked penne & mushrooms!
Baked Penne & Mushrooms
This recipe is a yummy baked Italian pasta dish. Fresh mushrooms are cooked in a cheese sauce made of a variety of Italian cheeses. Cooked penne pasta is added in and the mixture is placed in a casserole dish. Then the pasta is topped with more cheese and baked in the oven. A cheese lover's dream pasta dish!
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp plus 1 tsp kosher salt
- 8 oz fontina from Valle d’Acosta
- 1 cup freshly grated Grana Padano or Parmigano-Reggiano plus more for passing
- 4 tbsp soft butter
- 1 pound mixed fresh mushrooms such as porcini, shiitake, cremini and common white mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
- 1 cup half and half
- 1 pound penne
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh Italian parsley
Instructions
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Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 400 F. Fill the pasta pot with 6 quarts water, add 1 tbsp salt, and heat to boil. Shred the fontina and toss with ½ cup of the grana (grated Grana Padaron or Parmigano-Reggiano).
-
Put 3 tbsp butter in a big skillet, and set it over medium-high heat. When the butter begins to bubble, drop in the mushroom slices, stir with butter, season with 1 tsp salt, and spread the mushrooms out to cover the pan bottom. Let the mushrooms heat, without stirring, until they release their liquid and it comes to a boil. Cook the mushrooms, stirring occasionally, as they shrivel and the liquid rapidly evaporates. When the skillet bottom is completely dry, stir the half and half into the mushrooms, and continue stirring as the sauce comes to a boil. Cook it rapidly for a minute or two to thicken slightly, then keep it warm over very low heat.
-
Meanwhile, stir the penne into the boiling pasta water and cook until barely al dente (still somewhat undercooked to the bite). Ladle a cup of the pasta cooking water into the mushroom sauce and stir. Drain the pasta briefly, and drop into the cream-and-mushroom sauce. Toss the penne until all are nicely coated, then sprinkle over the remaining ½ cup of grana (not mixed with the fontina) and the chopped parsley. Toss to blend.
-
Coat the bottom and sides of the baking dish with the last tbsp of butter. Empty the skillet into the dish, spreading the penne and sauce to fill the dish completely in a uniform layer. Smooth the top, and sprinkle the mixed fontina-grana evenly all over.
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Set the dish in the oven, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the cheese topping is crusty and deep golden brown and the sauce is bubbling at the edges.
Recipe Notes
An 8oz container of Italian blend shredded cheeses can be substituted for the fontina. White and baby portabella mushrooms were substituted, which were easier to find at my local grocery store. If you use milk instead of half and half, the sauce is thinner. You can thicken the sauce by adding 1 tbsp flour to the milk and stirring it together, and then add the milk and flour mixture to the recipe. I season the mushrooms with some onion powder, garlic powder and Italian seasoning. Adding the seasoning to the mushrooms while cooking, helps add flavor to the finished sauce.