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Penne al Telefono
I don't know about you, but when I have a go-to dish or a favourite dish from a menu of a restaurant that I really love, it's a must for me to try and recreate the dish on my own, so I can spare myself a few bucks and a trip to the mall just to get my fix.
Apparently, this pasta dish makes it to my top 5 of favourite dishes in the world, and I'm not even kidding. This has been my go-to order every time I'd pay that restaurant a visit. I'd take a good look at it, smell a little for familiarity of aroma, and then I devour every bit of it, just to tickle my taste buds. So one day, I decided to hit the supermarket and grab all the ingredients I believe that dish is composed of.
It's tangy but balanced out with the richness of the cream, and finished off with some basil for that peppery and slightly minty taste. This is also a great sauce because it's flavour isn't overpowering. It's perfectly balanced out, and perfect to enjoy at any time of the day!
Ingredients
- 1 kg Pasta penne or any tubular pasta
- 656 g Tomato canned whole
- 44 g Garlic peeled
- 257 g Onion white
- 1 L Cream cooking/heavy
- 50 g Basil fresh
- 150 g Mozzarella regular
- 100 g Mozzarella Burrata
- As needed Olive oil
- As needed Salt
- As needed Pepper
Instructions
- STEP 1 – In a stockpot, fill it up with water and add a generous amout of salt to taste and some olive oil to prevent pasta from sticking. Bring up to a boil. Once boiling point has been reached, drop the pasta and stir occasionally. Cook until al dente (You may refer to instructions on pack of pasta about recommended cooking time as time varies depending on the brand and kind of pasta), this should take no more than 13 minutes. Once finished, set aside a bowl of pasta water. Drain the pasta and set aside in a bowl for use later on.
- STEP 2 – Finely chop the garlic. Thinly slice the white onion to julienne. Chop the basil into chiffonade or you may tear the leaves using your hands to avoid the leaves from turning dark. Separately set aside.
- STEP 3 – In a large saucepot, add some oil and onions. Turn the heat up to medium and sweat the onions until tender and translucent in colour. Adjust the heat to medium-low and add the garlic and stir until the garlic is soft and aromatic.
- STEP 4 – Turn the heat back up to medium or medium-low and add the canned whole tomatoes to the pot and cook until the sour taste is not as strong as it was straight off the can. Allow to simmer and reduce for about 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally to avoid burning the bottom of the pan. Season with salt and a little freshly cracked pepper. Add half of the basil and mix for 30 seconds.
- STEP 5 – Turn the heat down to low and add in the cream and both mozzarella cheeses, stirring continuously. Be careful as not to overcook the cream because it might thicken up too much. The cheese should be melted enough to be “stringy”. The consistency of this sauce should rather be slightly runny than really thick. Cook the cream and mix for about 5-7 minutes or until the “stringy” consistency of the cheese is achieved.
- STEP 6 – When the sauce is done, you may now add the cooked noodles and give it a good toss until they have been generously coated in the Telefono sauce.
- STEP 7 – Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with the leftover basil and some freshly cracked pepper. Serve and enjoy!
Nutrition
Sodium: 258mgCalcium: 302mgVitamin C: 17mgVitamin A: 3063IUSugar: 7gFiber: 6gPotassium: 678mgCholesterol: 196mgCalories: 1026kcalSaturated Fat: 33gFat: 55gProtein: 27gCarbohydrates: 106gIron: 2mg
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