Ingredients
Salt
1 pound penne rigate
2 pints grape tomatoes
8-10 cloves garlic, cracked but left in skins, plus 1 clove peeled and halved
3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), plus some for drizzling
Freshly ground black pepper
4 tenderloin steaks, about 1 1/4-inch thick
2 scallions, whites and greens
8-10 fresh sage leaves
A handful of flat leaf parsley
1 cup Gorgonzola cheese crumbles
1 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (a few generous handfuls)
1 cup basil leaves (about 20), torn or shredded
2 cups coarsely chopped arugula
Directions
Pre-heat oven to 450°F.
Place a pot of water on the stove and bring to a boil for the pasta. Salt water, add pasta and cook to just-shy of al dente. It needs to have a real bite left to it because it will sit in the sauce for two minutes later on and continue to cook. Heads up: you will need two ladles of starchy cooking water just before draining, about 1 1/2 cups.
Place the grape tomatoes on a cookie sheet with the garlic. Coat the tomatoes and cracked garlic with 3-4 tablespoons EVOO and season with lots of salt and pepper. Roast for 20 minutes.
Season the steaks with salt and pepper. Rub with a clove of cut garlic. Coat the steaks lightly in a drizzle of EVOO.
Chop the scallions, whites and greens. Thinly slice the sage and finely chop the parsley. Combine the scallions and herbs with the Gorgonzola crumbles.
When you are a few minutes away from taking the tomatoes out of the oven, heat an ovensafe skillet over high heat. Add the steaks and caramelize the meat on both sides, about 90 seconds per side.
Take the tomatoes and garlic out of the oven. Turn the oven off. Top the meat with the Gorgonzola and transfer the skillet to the oven. Let the meat sit in the hot oven 4-5 minutes. The Gorgonzola will melt down over the meat and the steaks will be tender and pale pink inside.
Remove the roasted garlic from the skins and mash into a paste with the side of your knife. Transfer the garlic paste to the bottom of a pasta bowl. Using a fork, mix the garlic into two ladles of starchy pasta cooking water, about 1 1/2 cups. Add the tomatoes to the bowl and mash them with a potato masher until a sauce forms and tomatoes are well combined with garlic broth. Add the penne, grated cheese, arugula and basil and toss a minute or two to allow the pasta to soak up flavors.
Serve meat with pasta alongside.
