Penne Alla Vodka
- Ready In:
- 45mins
- Ingredients:
- 12
- Serves:
-
4
ingredients
- 1 (28 ounce) can whole tomatoes, drained, liquid reserved
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1⁄2 small onion, minced (*about 1/4 cup)
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 medium garlic cloves, minced (or pressed through garlic press,, *about 2 tsp)
- 1⁄4 - 1⁄2 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
- table salt
- 1⁄3 cup vodka (**premium is best)
- 1⁄2 cup heavy cream
- 1 lb penne pasta
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil leaves
- freshly grated parmesan cheese, for serving
directions
- Puree half of tomatoes in food processor until smooth.
- Dice remaining tomatoes into 1/2" pieces, discarding cores.
- Combine pureed and diced tomatoes in liquid measuring cup (you should have about 1 2/3 cups).
- Add reserved liquid to equal 2 cups.
- Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat until shimmering.
- Add onion and tomato paste and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are light golden around edges, about 3 minutes.
- Add garlic and pepper flakes; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Stir in tomatoes and 1/2 tsp salt.
- Remove pan from heat and add vodka.
- Return pan to medium-high heat and simmer briskly until alcohol flavor is cooked off, 8-10 minutes; stir frequently and lower heat to medium if simmering becomes too vigorous.
- Stir in cream and cook until hot, about 1 minute.
- Meanwhile, bring 4 quarts water to boil in large Dutch oven over high heat.
- Add 1 TBS salt and pasta.
- Cook until just shy of al dente, then drain pasta, reserving 1/4 cup cooking water, and transfer pasta back to Dutch oven.
- Add sauce to pasta and toss over medium heat until pasta absorbs some of the sauce, 1-2 minutes, adding reserved cooking water if sauce is too thick.
- Stir in basil and adjust seasoning with salt.
- Divide among pasta bowls and serve immediately, passing Parmesan separately.
-
For Penne Alla Vodka With Pancetta:
- Heat 1 TBS olive oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat, add 3 oz thinly sliced pancetta, cut into 1/2" pieces (about 1/2 cup)and cook until crisp, 6-8 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer pancetta to small bowl and set aside. Pour off all but 2 TBS fat from pan and continue with recipe for Penne alla Vodka, using fat in pan instead of oil in step 5, reducing salt to a pinch in step 8, and adding reserved pancetta to sauce along with basil in step 16.
Questions & Replies
Got a question?
Share it with the community!
Reviews
-
5 Bright Stars! EXCELLENT! My only experience with vodka sauce has been at restaurants and this one is right up there with them! Made two changes to the recipe . . . first used diced tomatoes and eliminated a step. The other change was a big one, used the sauce over cheese ravioli and it was WONDERFUL!
-
This was a good vodka sauce recipe. My husband enjoyed! I have experienced some of the best vodka sauces around, made from visitors from Italy and from a couple of restaurants nearby. It is hard not to compare, but this one is the closest so far. Still needs a little work. Much better than Rachael Ray's recipe that everyone loves.
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
Bev I Am
United States
I joined Food.com when the site was RecipeZaar, April 24, 2001. This site has been a favorite with me for many years now with its unique features and especially for the many, many dear friends I have met here. If you are a new visitor, I hope you will stop for a while and check us out. I hope you will find it as special as I have.