Some of the best things I've cooked at Casa Adora were never planned. This was a Wednesday. There was a bowl of baby tomatoes on the counter — cherry red, yellow, and kumato — a jar of caramelised onions in the cupboard, a handful of green olives, and a slice of oat bread going stale. Forty minutes later I had an accidental penne rigate recipe and was eating it on the internal patio wondering why I'd never made it before.
The sauce is simple: baby tomatoes slow-cooked down with sweet caramelised onions, lifted with a generous splash of Bionsan Bio ACV with rosemary — because the tomatoes were sweet and needed the counter. Green olives sliced and added late. Parmesan, parsley and garlic stirred through at the end. Nothing radical.
The crumb is the thing. A slice of oat bread blitzed with almonds and garlic, toasted dry in a pan until golden and fragrant. Half goes into the sauce, thickening it slightly and absorbing the tomato. The rest goes on top — coarse, nutty, with a faint sweetness from the almonds that works extraordinarily well against the brine of the olives.
Penne rigate, cooked al dente, goes straight from the water into the sauce. No oil. Just the pasta, the sauce, and a ladleful of starchy cooking water to bring it together.
How to Make This Penne Rigate Recipe
The Crumb — What Makes This Penne Rigate Recipe
Blitz a small slice of oat bread with a small handful of blanched almonds and a garlic clove to a coarse crumb — not fine, you want texture. Toast in a dry pan over medium heat, stirring constantly, until golden. Set aside. Half goes into the sauce near the end; half is kept back for the top.
The Sauce
The sauce for this penne rigate recipe is simple: baby tomatoes slow-cooked down. Soften caramelised onions in olive oil. Add the baby tomatoes — a mix of cherry, yellow and kumato — and cook down over medium heat until they collapse and the sauce thickens. Add a generous splash of Bionsan Bio ACV with rosemary and stir through. Taste. Slice in the green olives. Add half the crumb. Stir in grated parmesan, chopped flat-leaf parsley and a little minced garlic. Season.
To Finish
Cook penne rigate al dente. Reserve a cup of cooking water. Drain and add directly to the sauce, tossing to coat and adding cooking water as needed. Plate, scatter the remaining crumb generously over the top, finish with a parsley leaf.
Serves one. Eaten on the internal patio at Casa Adora, on an ornate iron table, on a Wednesday, without any intention of writing it down.
Find more pasta recipes in the Pasta Hub and more recipes and food adventures here.
Wonky photos, proper food, genuine adventures — The Flexible Chef
