Penne with winter tomato sauce

Ingredients for 6 servings:

• 1 package of penne (500 g)
• salt water
• 1 tsp, heaped turmeric for the pasta water
• 1 can of tomatoes, peeled in their own juice (800 g)
• 10 tomatoes, dried, unsalted, diced
• 1 onion(s), red, finely diced
• 2 garlic cloves, finely diced
• 1 carrot(s), diced
• 2 stalk(s) Celery, diced
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 2 sprig(s) rosemary, fresh, needles cut as finely as possible
• 2 sprigs of thyme, fresh, leaves only, finely chopped
• 1 red pepper, without stem and seeds, halved
• 1 jar white wine
• 1 tbsp sugar, finely ground
• salt and pepper
• 3 tbsp unsalted capers, to taste
• 2 tbsp black olives, pitted, diced, as desired
• 50 ml cream, as desired
• 6 tbsp olive oil
• 100 g Parmesan, freshly grated

Instructions

Working time approx. 20 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 40 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour

Penne con Sugo di Pomodoro, the winter counterpart to my summer dish Spaghetti al crudo, which can be found in the database.

As always with my recipes, only top-quality ingredients should be used. Gently heat the olive oil in a large, non-stick frying pan with high sides. Add the two halves of the peperoncini for 1-3 minutes, depending on how spicy you want them, to flavor the oil. Then remove the peperoncini. Fry the sun-dried tomatoes, onion, garlic, carrot, and celery in the oil for 5 minutes, then add the thyme and very finely chopped rosemary and mix everything well. Increase the heat and add the contents of the tomato can. Flatten the tomatoes with a spatula, pour in the wine, mix well, and simmer gently with the lid on for 20 minutes. Then, uncovered, reduce the sauce for another 20 minutes until it reaches the desired consistency, or reduce slightly or more. Finally, add the cream, capers, and/or olives, if desired, or omit them. Finally, season to taste with sugar, salt, and pepper. Meanwhile, cook the penne, or any other pasta, in plenty of salted water enriched with turmeric, for 1 minute less than the package instructions, until very al dente. Just before serving, stir 2-3 large tablespoons of the cooking water into the tomato sauce, then drain the pasta in a sieve and immediately add it to the sauce while still slightly wet. Mix everything well and continue to cook at a gentle simmer for about 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Serve as a primo piatto with Parmesan cheese. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil over each plate, if desired. If you’d prefer nothing else, increase the amount of pasta by at least half. The sauce will be sufficient.