This dish is a warm, comforting dish that makes great leftovers. You can serve it with a salad and/or garlic bread if you choose. I created this dish because I was trying to recreate a similar dish I often ate at one of my favorite Italian restaurants in northern Thailand. I lived there for 6 years and had so many wonderful restaurants to choose from it was often difficult to decide what kind of food to eat. This recipe is not nearly as spicy as what I was served as they used bird's eye chillies to create the heat. This is a milder version which has the added cheese on top giving it a beautiful richness.
Portion size8 servings
Credits :Candace MacKay
Ingredients
Method
Boil a pot of salted water. When boiling add penne. While cooking penne, add a couple glugs of olive oil to a big sauce pan and heat over medium heat. When hot add onions and garlic, don't brown but cook til translucent, about 10 mins. Add a little salt and pepper while sweating the onions and garlic. Add the ground turkey or chicken and fry til almost cooked. Add mushrooms. Once mushrooms start to wilt add the zuchinni. Cook for another five minutes. Add the chilli flakes and oregano. Stir to combine. Add the cans of tomatoes and stir well. Begin to add the cream cheese in little blobs you pull off with your fingers. Continue until all has been added and stir to combine. It will take about 10 mins for the cream cheese to melt, so stir every once in a while. Add more salt and pepper to taste and more oregano or/ and chilli flakes if necessary. When pasta has cooked add to the sauce. Remove from heat and add parsley. Pour into a large casserole dish and top with cheeses. Bake in 350 oven for 30 mins.
