Rose Penne

When I was a kid my mom used to buy this specific type of rose pasta sauce from the supermarket. She would always just simply heat it up, mix it with penne pasta noodles and it was one of our all time favorites. 

That specific pasta sauce disappeared off the supermarket shelves years ago and I have never found a replacement… until now. This rose sauce is IDENTICAL to the brand that we used to buy years ago, like identical. 

I had tried a few years ago to develop this recipe, to no avail. The recipe didn’t taste the same at all, I wasn't happy with it and I had no idea if it was even possible to replicate that favorite from so long ago. 

Then one day it dawned on me… ROSE. 

Of course, duh! I needed to use actual rose wine in the recipe!

I had never tried using Rose in the recipe.

That was it, I resurrected the old recipe that I tried to develop before, added the rose wine, fine tuned some of the ingredients and BOOM. I had a carbon copy of the original rose sauce that I had fallen in love with in my childhood. 

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How to make Rose Penne

Rose Penne is extremely easy to make. It is the perfect recipe for busy weeknights or surprise dinner guests and you can have it on the table in less than 30 minutes. 

First, bring a large pot of water to a boil, generously season the water with kosher salt and cook pasta to al dante, about 7-8 minutes. 

Do this next part while the penne noodles are cooking. 

In a deep large skillet, over medium heat, add the extra virgin olive oil and minced garlic. Heat until the garlic is fragrant and just sizzling, around 1 minute, take care to not let the garlic burn. 

As soon as the garlic is sizzling and fragrant, add the wine. Stir and let it simmer for 5-7 minutes, until the wine has reduced by about half its original volume.

Stir in the crushed tomatoes*, tomato paste, and basil. Return the sauce to a simmer and let it cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Remove the sauce from the heat and stir in the cashew milk or cream. (Regular heavy cream can be used in place of the cashew milk, if desired.)

*Canned whole tomatoes or canned diced tomatoes can be easily substituted here. Just drain the tomatoes and blend with a hand blender until pureed. 

After the Penne Noodles have cooked 

As soon as the pasta is finished cooking, drain the cooking water and add the penne noodles directly into the sauce. Stir to fully combine the cooked noodles with the sauce and serve immediately. 

Serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese, basil leaves, and of course, Rose wine.

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