biaggi's penne sardi - copycat recipe

{photo credit}

A while back, while I was visiting my Mississippi family, we went to a restaurant called Biaggi's. I ordered the butternut squash ravioli, but by mistake they brought me the "penne sardi". Well, it was an awesome mistake, because it was the best pasta dish I think I've ever had, and I eat a LOT of pasta. I searched for copycat recipes online, but there were none to be found, so I experimented with my own. This doesn't taste exactly like the restaurant's, but it's pretty darn close! I don't eat meat, so I left the chicken out of my version. You carnivores out there will have to figure out how to copy the chicken part on your own, but I have to say ... it's delicious without the chicken!

Biaggi's Penne Sardi:

serves about 6

Start with the breadcrumbs. Tear 3 pieces of bread into bite-size pieces, then blend them lightly. You don't want them too fine or they'll just burn!

They should be similar to this texture.

These seasonings, plus salt and pepper, are what I used to flavor my breadcrumbs. You'll probably want to use lots of parsley, so make sure you have at least a tablespoon or so on hand.

Spread the crumbs out on a baking dish, and cook them at 200 for about 3 minutes at a time. Take them out, and mix them up thoroughly. The crumbs on the outside are going to cook faster than the middle ones, so you want to be careful to take them out and stir them every 3 minutes! Keep going until they are golden brown and crunchy. This shouldn't take more than about 10 minutes. Now set them aside and move on to the onions and mushrooms.

Take a large pan (a cast iron skillet works best) and melt about 3 tablespoons of butter in it. Slice one large yellow onion into very thin slices, and add one cup of sliced mushrooms. Sprinkle pretty heavily with salt, stir, add more salt, stir.

This part takes about 45 minutes, but it's worth it, I promise! Keep cooking the mushrooms and onions over VERY low heat until the onions go from white and stiff, to clear and flimsy, to brown and syrupy. Use the before and after pictures above as for reference of how much they should cook down! Now you can set that aside and move on to the sauce.

I sort of use this recipe, sort of, but with lots of modifications.

• 2 1/2 cups heavy cream/ half and half
• 1 cup butter (I know)
• 1 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 5 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
• 1 cup sun-dried tomatoes
• salt and pepper to taste

Melt the butter and cream together in a large sauce pan, and bring almost to a boil, but not quite. Stir in the cheeses until they are melted, followed by the tomatoes.  Add salt and pepper to taste, set aside.

Now it's time for the pasta! Cook about a pound and a half of white penne pasta, then drain. My husband is the official rice and pasta cooker of the house, so I let him take over here. Drain the pasta, then dump it into a large bowl. Now throw in the sauce, caramelized mushrooms and onions, an extra half cup (or more, if you'd like) shredded mozzarella cheese, and stir it all up! Pour it into a large baking dish, and top it off with more shredded mozzarella and the breadcrumbs. You may want to spritz the breadcrumbs with Pam to make sure they stay crispy.

Bake it at 350 for about 20 minutes or so, checking once or twice to make sure the breadcrumbs aren't burning.

Enjoy!