Penne Alla Panna

-Sylvie-'s Note:

This is a very tasty and quick pasta meal. I got the recipe years ago when I was still at school and went home with one of my friends to have dinner at her house. Her family traveled to Tuscany every year and this was their version of a pasta dish they had eaten there. Serve with a side salad and some crusty bread. You can use any type of pasta really if you haven't got penne pasta, it's really nice with tortellini as well.

• Total Time: 15 mins
• Prep Time: 5 mins
• Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 400 g penne pasta, cooked
• 250 -400 ml cream
• 200 g cooked ham or 200 g prosciutto, finely sliced and cut into small pieces
• 1/2-1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2-3/4 cup parmesan cheese
• 1 1/2 tablespoons vodka (optional)
• 1 teaspoon olive oil

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a skillet.
2. On a high heat, quickly fry the ham or prosciutto until starting to brown, keep stirring it continuously to stop it from burning.
3. Turn down to a low heat or if cooking on an electric hob turn it off, pour in 250 ml of cream.
4. Add the cayenne pepper and stir in the parmesan.
5. If the sauce seems really thick add some more cream, the pasta shouldn't be dry, but neither should it swim in sauce.
6. Stir in the pasta and serve straight away.

Reviews

[nicoleingermantown]

Easy and the family loved it. Used half and half, instead of cream. Great use leftover ham from Xmas or Easter.

[Miska]

This dish was really simple to make and the finished product looked like a gourmet version of macaroni and cheese. I enjoyed the recipe, however, I found it too salty for my tastes, which may be due to the type of prosciutto that I used, or perhaps that I am not used to eating prosciutto. Either way, I might try it once more, using proscuitto from my italian grocer. Thanks! Updated: I often go back to this recipe and use capicollo ham, it's wonderful and so quick. Wonderful flavour with such little effort!

[ALH]

Shoot, just realized when I looked at the recipe again I forget the cayenne pepper. Even without it though it turned out amazing. I loved it. Thanks.