Grind garlic in your mini Cuisinart. If you don't have a Cuisinart, you can dice your garlic finely.
Grind shallots in your mini Cuisinart. Again, If you don't have a Cuisinart, dice your shallots finely.
Heat olive oil in a dutch oven on low-medium heat. Sauté garlic and shallots for 5 minutes with a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper until golden brown.
Add in tomato puree and diced tomatoes. Simmer on low for 20 minutes.
While sauce is simmering, cook pasta according to package instructions.
Add sugar, nutmeg, dried basil, salt, and pepper to taste. Simmer 10 minutes.
Taste and adjust with additional salt, pepper, and sugar. Add in fresh basil and stir. Remove from heat.
You can either add your penne pomodoro sauce to the top of your pasta if plating individually or mix it into a larger pot of pasta and serve family style. Enjoy!
For Lemon-Basil Ricotta
Remove ricotta from the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature. It will be easier to mix in your ingredients this way.
Zest your lemon.
Chop your basil.
Fold in lemon zest and fresh basil into your ricotta.
Add a pinch of salt and a grind or two of fresh pepper.
Plating Penne Pomodoro
Plate your pasta, add a dollop of your ricotta and enjoy. Pro tip: Encourage your eaters (or just yourself!) to mix their ricotta into their pasta for a creamy pasta treat!
Notes
Attention to all my gluten-free friends! There are so many incredible gluten-free pasta options out there. My go-to when cooking for friends and family that are gluten-sensitive are the following:Barilla Gluten Free PastaJovial Gluten Free Pasta, and Ronzoni Gluten Free PastaIf you're not a fan of ricotta, or just don't have the extra few minutes, you can top your cooked pasta with a slice of fresh mozzarellacheese, or sprinkle with some parmesan cheese.