BAKED PENNE WITH PROSCIUTTO AND FONTINA

I'm always looking for unique pasta recipes, so this one caught my eye.  I rarely use Prosciutto and I don't remember every using Fontina cheese.....so, this one hit all the marks for me.  It was absolutely scrumptious!

I used mini casseroles per the recipe, which was fun, but I would opt for one large casserole next time. 

INGREDIENTS:

10 oz. penne pasta

1/4 tsp. kosher salt plus extra for salting the water

3 oz. thinly sliced prosciutto, torn into 1 inch pieces

3 oz. coarsely grated Italian Fontina cheese

1.5 oz. finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

1.5 cups heavy cream

3/4 cup fire roasted diced tomatoes

1/2 cup chicken broth

2 tsps. minced garlic

2 tsps. dried rosemary or 1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. fresh minced

1-2 tsp. hot pepper flakes (optional)

3 Tbsp. butter, cut into thin slices

DIRECTIONS:

Cook pasta to the Al dente stage.  Drain the pasta.  

Spray a large casserole dish with a non-stick spray.  

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

With the exception of the butter, combine all the ingredients into a large bowl.  Add the pasta to the bowl and combine well.  Arrange the butter slices over the top of the casserole dish.  Bake the pasta until bubbly and brown.  Approximately 25-30 minutes.  Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

What a wonderful flavor!  I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.  

NOTES: 

You'll find the original recipe at www.saramoulton.com if you'd like to see the original.  This is my adaptation, after having made it exactly per her recipe.   I don't know if the high altitude played a factor, but her process of just letting the pasta soak prior to cooking resulted in very chewy pasta.  I actually had to put my dishes back in the oven to cook longer.  That's why I'm recommending cooking to the Al dente stage, prior to assembling.  I also lowered the cooking temp and increased the cooking time.