Villa Sentieri

Penne with Roasted Garlic Cream Sauce

This takes some time to put together but once it’s assembled you can spend time with your guests while it cooks. The sauce has a luxurious amount of butter, about twice what would typically be used based on the amount of flour. This improves the flavor and mouth-feel of the sauce. Because I originally created this dish for an event in Alamogordo, New Mexico, I topped it with pistachios which are grown there. Chopped walnuts or whole pine nuts could be substituted. If you want to prepare the dish in advance, be sure to cool the pasta in a bowl of ice water. Mix the cooled pasta with cold white sauce and the other ingredients. Pour into a baking dish, cover tightly, and refrigerate. Allow the covered dish to sit at room temperature 60-90 minutes before baking.

CoursePasta, Noodles, and Sauces
CuisineItalian

Servings	Prep Time
12people	2hours

Cook Time	Passive Time
2hours	2hours

Servings	Prep Time
12people	2hours

Cook Time	Passive Time
2hours	2hours

Ingredients

Balsamella (White Sauce)

24cloves garlicpeeled
1tablespoon olive oil
3/4pound butter
3/4cup flour
3quarts whole milkdivided
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs rosemary
1 lemon, zest onlycut in strips
saltto taste

Final Assembly

1/3cup extra virgin olive oil
1 3/4pound white mushroom capscut in ¼ inch dice (stems reserved for another use)
1/2pound smoked hamcut in ¼ inch dice
1pound frozen “baby” peas (petit pois)
2pounds pennepreferably penne rigate (with ridges)
2ounces Parmesan cheesegrated, or more to taste
3/4cup pistachioschopped or substitute chopped walnuts or whole pine nuts
saltto taste
black pepperfreshly ground to taste

Instructions

Balsamella (White Sauce)

Put the garlic in a single layer in a small oven-proof dish with a tight-fitting lid. Alternatively, put the garlic on a sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil.
Sprinkle the garlic with olive oil.
Put the lid on the dish, or fold up and seal the aluminum foil.
Roast the garlic at 300°F until soft and golden brown, approximately 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Put the garlic and any olive oil you can scrape out of the dish into a blender jar.
Add 1 cup of the milk.
Puree the garlic and milk. Reserve.
Warm the remaining milk in a heavy-bottomed saucepan.
Melt the butter in another heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Stir the flour into the butter.
Cook for a few minutes on medium heat but do not allow flour to color.
Stir in the warm milk, one ladleful at a time, incorporating well after each addition to avoid lumps.
After about half the warm milk has been incorporated, add the pureed garlic mixture.
Use some of the warm milk to rinse out the blender jar and add it to the pot. Stir well.
Add the remaining milk to the pot along with the bay leaves, rosemary sprigs, and lemon zest.
Bring to a boil over medium high heat stirring (nearly) constantly and cook until the sauce reaches the thickness of heavy cream, approximately 5 minutes.
Strain the white sauce through a fine-mesh sieve.
If not using the sauce immediately, cover it with plastic wrap, putting the plastic directly on the surface to prevent the formation of a skin, and refrigerate. [If you are going to prepare the casserole in advance, make sure the balsamella is cold before combining with the other ingredients.]

Final Assembly

Put the frozen peas in a large sieve. Rinse with cool water to thaw the peas. Allow the peas to drain and completely thaw while proceeding with the recipe.
Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over high heat.
When the oil is hot, but not smoking, add the diced mushroom caps. Toss well.
When the mushrooms have absorbed the oil, add 1 teaspoon of fine salt. Mix well.
Turn the heat to medium low until the mushrooms begin to sweat.
Turn the heat to high and continue sautéing until the liquid evaporates.
Continue to cook until the mushroom pieces are browned in places.
Season with black pepper. Add ham and cook 2-3 minutes.
Remove from the heat and reserve.
Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a rolling boil. Add the pasta.
Boil until the pasta is partially cooked. It should still be a little crunchy on the inside.
If you are going to cook the casserole immediately, drain the pasta but do not rinse. If you are going to assemble the casserole in advance, drain the pasta and chill it in a bowl of ice water. When cold, drain well.
Combine pasta, peas, mushroom and ham mixture, and balsamella. Mix well.
Pour into a large buttered casserole. For this quantity, I use a full-size steam-table tray, also called a “hotel pan.”
Put a sheet of parchment on top then cover the pan tightly with heavy-duty aluminum foil. You can skip the parchment if you are going to cook the casserole immediately. Food should not stay in extended contact with aluminum, hence the parchment paper if the dish is being assembled in advance.
Either refrigerate or bake at 350°F until bubbly. Baking time will depend on whether the ingredients are hot or previously refrigerated and brought to room temperature, 1 ½ to 2 hours.
Remove the foil and parchment. Sprinkle the top with Parmesan cheese and nuts.
Place under the broiler, or on the top rack of an oven heated to 500°F, until the top is golden brown.
Allow the casserole to rest at least 15 minutes before serving.

Recipe Notes