Reverse Engineering Pasta Sauce

There’s a pasta dish that’s served only at a handful of Italian restaurants on Long Island. It’s called Penne Madeira, it’s my favorite thing on the island to eat, and nobody would tell me how to make it.

On one occasion my server came back from the kitchen and explained that the chefs thought I was a competing chef trying to steal from thier menu. She told me not to feel bad: The chefs were so paranoid they refused to tell her how to make the shrimp pasta she loved.

I couldn’t find it online. The search results were countless recipes for The Cheesecake Factory’s Pasta Da Vinci because it also incorporates Madeira wine and penne pasta. If any other Penne Madeira recipes are out there, they’re buried deep in cheesecake.

My friend Kevin is a talented home cook. A month ago I convinced him to try it and asked if he thought we could reverse engineer the recipe from taste, pictures, and menu descriptions. He said he thought it was worth a shot. I pulled out my phone and took photos.

The original up close

In the photo above you can see sliced chicken breast, shredded parsley, chunks of mozzarella, one cherry tomato, and a light brown sauce with minced shallots. My friend guessed based on taste that the sauce had a beef base rather than chicken, which is consistent with other Madeira wine sauces.

Three weeks later we rolled up our sleeves and got started. After several hours of trial and error we had a recipe that worked.

You will need:

• 1 pound penne pasta
• 1/2 pound mozzarella
• 2 chicken breasts
• 2 cups high-quality beef stock
• 3/4 cup Madeira wine
• 1/2 bunch parsley
• 2 sprigs thyme
• 2 shallots
• 3 tablespoon flour
• 1 teaspoon tomato paste
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
• salt and pepper

The above serves four adults with normal appetites. High-quality homemade stock is the secret to this dish. We incorporate a modified version of ATK’s Madeira sauce, and store-bought stock is missing the flavors and consistency that reduce the way we want this to.

1. First, butterfly the chicken breast to 1/4 inch thickness. I used this technique. Heat 2 tablespoons of butter and cook the chicken, slice it against the grain into strips, and set it aside.

2. Next, prep the parsley by repeatedly bunching it together and carefully chopping through it with a knife. Cube the mozzarella into 1/2 inch to 1 inch pieces.

3. Boil the penne until barely al dente. It will cook a little further once we add it to the sauce. Drain the finished pasta, lightly coat with olive oil, then set it aside.

4. Add the remaining butter to your chicken pan. Turn the burner to 1/3 heat, add shallots and thyme, and cook until the shallots are translucent. Use a spatula to scrape up the chicken fond.

5. Add the flour little by little while stirring constantly. Add tomato paste, incorporate and cook for about a minute.

6. Add the beef broth and Madeira wine. Bring the mixture to a boil at 2/3 heat and reduce it to about half the initial volume of liquid. Be patient!

7. As the sauce reduces, taste it periodically. You’ll notice a major change in flavor over half an hour. The initial sweetness of the wine should dissipate and the end result should be savory.

8. Add back the chicken, mozzarella, and parsley. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

That’s it! You’ve made near-perfect Penne Madeira. It isn’t exactly the same as what you’ll find in restaurants, but it scratches the itch and tastes fantastic. Bon appetit.