Baked Pasta with Cream and Romano

This dish is basically a play on fettuccine alfredo. The original recipe calls for Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese but I use Romano cheese simply because I like the taste of Romano more than Parmigiano-Reggiano. But feel free to use either one.

Baked Pasta with Cream and Romano

1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 cup good-quality grated Romano cheese, plus 2 tablespoons (try to get it freshly grated either from an Italian deli or grate it yourself)
8 oz. ziti pasta
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
Salt and ground white pepper, to taste

Heat the oven to 400 degrees.
Cook the ziti slightly underdone in salted boiling water.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the heavy cream, 1 cup of grated cheese, salt and white pepper. Mix well to combine. When the ziti is done, drain and add to the cheese mixture. Divide the ziti among 4 shallow gratin dishes. Sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons of cheese and dot with the the butter.
Place the gratin dishes in the oven and bake for about 10 minutes, until the sauce is hot and bubbly. To brown the tops a bit, I usually place the dishes under the broiler for 2 or 3 minutes. Serve hot. Enjoy!!

Footnotes - Be careful not to overbake or the sauce will separate.

Recipe adapted from Fine Cooking