The creamy cardinal pennette are a first course that belongs to regional culinary tradition and, I should say with a conditional, should recall the color of a cardinal’s robe….
My sauce was a little lighter than the cardinal red (you know I can’t lie or embellish the things I make) and clearly this depends on the color of the tomato purée and the added cream which, when combined, produce the scarlet cardinal red.
The cardinal-style first course is very simple and I recommend adding plenty of basil and a good grinding of black pepper to make it tastier!
As with, I would say, all regional tradition recipes, there are a thousand variations because every family added or removed an ingredient and the result becomes another recipe!
The cardinal sauce pairs well with short pasta such as paccheri, penne, pennette, gemelli, casarecce and personally I wouldn’t put it on tagliatelle so as not to end up with a mushy dish reminiscent of barberian memories!
Personally I’ll make it again but I’ll add a burratina per person to make this dish outrageously delicious and unique, but as always it’s up to you to choose!!!!!
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I opened a recipes channel open to everyone and free on WhatsApp: no notifications and no sound, which you can join by clicking the link here https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaHbGIn9cDDig7Cw2x0F and every day you can read one sweet and one savory recipe!
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- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Very inexpensive
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Cooking time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients RECIPE CREAMY CARDINAL PENNETTE
- 11 oz pennette rigate
- 1 onion (small)
- 11 oz tomato purée
- 2 oz tomato paste
- 3 oz pecorino (grated)
- to taste extra virgin olive oil
- to taste basil
- to taste salt
- to taste pepper
Tools RECIPE CREAMY CARDINAL PENNETTE
- Frying pans
- High-sided saucepans
- Knives
FOR THE PREPARATION OF THE RECIPE CREAMY CARDINAL PENNETTE
I peel the onion, chop it finely and then sauté it in a pan with a couple of tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil for a couple of minutes.
Then I add the tomato purée and the tomato paste and a few chopped basil leaves.
I let it simmer for about 15 minutes and meanwhile I put a large pot of salted water on the stove to cook the chosen short pasta.
I then add the fresh liquid cream (not whipped) and season the cardinal sauce with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
When the pasta is al dente I drain it well and pour it directly into the deep red sauce and mix everything well, adding the grated pecorino.
All that remains is to plate individual portions, bring extra grated cheese to the table and we’re ready to taste the creamy cardinal pennette!
Enjoy your meal! Annalisa
Here is the collection of first courses ready in 20 minutes 
