Baked Penne & Mushrooms

Name: Baked Penne & Mushrooms
Yield: serves 6
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt; 8 ounces fontina from Valle d’Aosta (or Italian Fontal; see box, page 74); 1 cup freshly grated Grana Padano or Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for passing; 4 tablespoons 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 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley; A large pot for cooking the penne; a heavy-bottomed skillet or sauté pan, 12-inch diameter or larger; a 3-quart baking dish, 9 by 13 inches, or shallow casserole of similar size

December 9, 2011

The marvelous melting qualities of authentic fontina are particularly evident in baked pasta dishes such as this delicious pasticcio. When it is in the oven with penne (or other tubular or concave pastas, like ziti, rigatoni, or shells), the molten cheese oozes around each piece of pasta and is caught in all of its nooks and crannies. The cheese on top of the pasticcio melts and then becomes crusty and caramelized.

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