Penne Alla Vecchia Bettola (adapted from Nick and Toni through The Barefoot Contessa)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

1/4 cup good olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, diced

1 1/2 dried oregano

2 (28 oz) cans peeled whole plum tomatoes (can use diced as well)

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Fresh oregano

Heavy cream

Parmesan cheese (and we're not talking about the shelf kind here. are there really people who still use that stuff?)

Heat oil in large oven proof pan. Add onions and cook until translucent. Add garlic and oregano and saute until fragrant. Add tomatoes (undrained) salt and pepper and mix to blend. Cover pan with tight fitting lid and place in preheated oven. Cook for 1 1/2 hours.

Remove pan from oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, cook pasta until al dente.

Using an immersion blender (can also do batches in blender) blend sauce until smooth.

Add 2 T. fresh oregano and enough heavy cream to make the sauce a good consistency. Drain pasta and add to pan. Cook a few minutes longer until pasta is entirely coated with sauce. Sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan, if desired.

Comments

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