Pennoni Rigati 🍝

This is what I love about cooking a recipe the day after - taking something already full of flavor and turning it into an entirely new dish. The marinated roasted peppers bring their olive oil, garlic, and capers straight into the pan, creating the foundation for this pasta.

The peppers are sweet and silky, the scamorza melts into little smoky pockets, and the ricotta salata gives you that salty finish that brings everything together.

✨ This dish is built off three main foundations:

• Marinated Roasted Peppers - using not just the peppers, but their flavorful oil, garlic, and capers.

• Smoked Scamorza - folded in off the heat so it softens into creamy, smoky pockets throughout the pasta.

• Ricotta Salata - generously grated over the top for a salty, sharp finish.

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🎥 Full recipe + technique for subscribers below! ↓

Serves 2–3

• 7 ounces (200 g) dried pennoni or other large short pasta

• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil from the marinated roasted peppers, plus more as needed

• 2 garlic cloves from the marinated roasted peppers, lightly smashed

• 2 anchovy fillets

• 1 fresh red chili pepper, finely chopped, or to taste

• 1 generous cup roasted red peppers, roughly chopped

• 1 tablespoon capers from the roasted peppers, plus more if desired

• ½ cup Sicilian olives, pitted and lightly crushed

• ¾ cup smoked scamorza, cut into small dice

• 10–12 fresh basil leaves, torn, plus more for finishing

• Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

• Sea salt, as needed

• 2–3 ounces ricotta salata, grated on the large holes of a box grater

• Fresh basil leaves

• Extra virgin olive oil, as needed

1. Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Add the pennoni and cook until just shy of al dente. Reserve about 1 cup of the pasta water before draining.

2. Spoon about 3 tablespoons of the flavorful oil from the marinated roasted peppers into a large skillet. Pull 2 of the smashed garlic cloves from the peppers and add them to the oil along with the anchovies. Add a little additional extra virgin olive oil if needed.

3. Place the skillet over medium-low heat and let the anchovies melt gently into the oil while the garlic perfumes it.

4. Add the finely chopped fresh chili and cook briefly until fragrant. Remove and discard the garlic cloves before they begin to brown.

5. Roughly chop the roasted peppers and add them to the skillet along with about 1 tablespoon of the capers from the peppers.

6. Lightly crush the Sicilian olives with your fingers, removing the pits if necessary, and add them to the skillet. Cook for a few minutes, just long enough for the peppers to warm through and their juices to mingle with the anchovy, chili, olives, and seasoned oil.

7. Transfer the pasta directly into the skillet and toss vigorously with the peppers, adding enough reserved pasta water to create a loose, glossy sauce that clings to the pennoni.

8. Remove the pan from the heat. Fold in the diced smoked scamorza and plenty of torn fresh basil. Toss just enough for the scamorza to begin softening and melting into the hot pasta without completely disappearing.

9. Spoon immediately into warm bowls. Grate the ricotta salata generously over the top using the large holes of a box grater. Finish with more fresh basil and, if desired, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

• Use everything from the roasted peppers.
The oil, garlic, and capers from the original roasted pepper recipe are packed with flavor. They become the foundation of the sauce, so don’t drain or discard them.

• Let the anchovies disappear.
Cook them gently in the pepper oil until they melt completely. You shouldn’t taste “anchovy.” They add salinity and depth that make the peppers and olives taste even better.

• Keep the sauce loose before adding the cheese.
Add enough pasta water so the peppers and seasoned oil form a glossy, slightly loose sauce. The pasta will continue absorbing liquid, and the scamorza will tighten everything once it goes in.

• Add the scamorza off the heat.
You want the smoked scamorza to soften and become creamy while still leaving little pockets of melted cheese throughout the pasta. Too much heat can make it stringy or cause it to disappear into the sauce.

• Be careful with additional salt.
Between the anchovies, capers, olives, scamorza, ricotta salata, and salted pasta water, there is already plenty of seasoning. Taste the finished pasta before adding any additional salt.

Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo
A dry, deeply colored rosato made from Montepulciano. It has enough fruit and body for the roasted peppers and smoked scamorza, while its acidity keeps the anchovy, olives, capers, and cheese from making the dish feel heavy.

Etna Bianco
Primarily Carricante from Sicily. Its bright acidity, citrus character, and salty mineral quality work beautifully with the capers, olives, anchovy, and ricotta salata, while giving a clean counterpoint to the sweetness of the roasted peppers and smoke of the scamorza.

• Roasted red peppers

• Extra virgin olive oil from the marinated peppers

• Garlic cloves from the marinated peppers

• Capers from the marinated peppers

• 7 ounces (200 g) dried pennoni rigati or another large short pasta

• 2 anchovy fillets

• ½ cup Sicilian olives

• Extra virgin olive oil, if needed

• 1 fresh red chili pepper

• 10–12 fresh basil leaves, plus more for finishing

• ¾ cup smoked scamorza

• 2–3 ounces ricotta salata

Sweet peppers, smoky melted scamorza, briny olives and capers, and salty ricotta salata - leftovers don’t get much better than this! ☺️