Penne & Sausages a La Vodka

Submitted by CountryLady

"This recipe is an original creation specifically for the cooking contest. I used the mild Italian sausages but you could increase the heat by using the spicy type & adding more cumin. I served it with Caesar salad & Garlic bread. My DH just loved the sauce & wants me to make this dish again!!"

 

• Ready In: 30mins
• Ingredients: 17
• Serves: 4-6

ingredients

• 1 lb Italian pork sausage (sweet or spicy)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 medium red pepper, seeded & cut into strips
• 1 medium zucchini, cut into strips
• 1 (14 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄2 teaspoon white pepper
• 1⁄2 teaspoon cumin
• 1⁄3 cup vodka
• 1⁄2 cup half-and-half cream
• 1⁄4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1⁄3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 1 lb penne
• 1 tablespoon parsley, finely chopped

directions

1. Prick sausage casings several times& cook in lightly salted, boiling water for 3 minutes.
2. Drain, cool& slice into rounds about 1/2 inch thick.
3. Melt butter& oil in a very large skillet.
4. Add sausages, onion & garlic; cook on medium heat until sausages are lightly browned.
5. Add peppers & zucchini & cook for 2 minutes.
6. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.
7. Add penne & cook, according to package directions, until al dente (approx 9 minutes).
8. Drain well.
9. In the meantime, add tomato sauce, salt, pepper & cumin to the sausage mixture.
10. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 6 minutes or until sauce starts to thicken.
11. Add vodka & cook for another minute, stirring constantly.
12. Add the cream, nutmeg& Parmesan; simmer for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add pasta to skillet; toss or stir well and serve sprinkled with parsley & additional Parmesan.

Reviews

[GirlEatsWorld]

A good pasta recipe. Easy to make, good flavor. I cut it in half without any problem and have enough left for lunch. I also did not use the best sausage, and if I had I'm sure it would make it even better. There's nothing really different, nusual or "knock me off my feet" about it, but its just a good basic recipe. Also, I dont like my pasta drowning in sauce, I like just enough to nicely coat the pasta with maybe a little for bread dipping, and this recipe was perfect for my liking. Very good and I think I would make it again, especially when zucchini season comes around.

 

[Rita1652]

I did use both hot and sweet sausage. The cumin you didn`t even know it was in there! I also added the peppers and zucchini at the same time with the onions and garlic.The parmesan I let everyone add there own.This is something I would make again. It seems like I`ve made it before! My style of cooking! Just loved it! I could eat the whole thing!

 

[sacodeb]

Thank you for a delicious, easy recipe. I made this exactly as written (except I cut in in half) for dinner today and it was wonderful. All the ingredients worked so well together. I will definately make this again. Thanks for posting.

 

[Delenn]

I have had vodka sauces at restaurants but have never made them. This was really easy. I have tried to get my son to eat sweet Italian sausage and he thinks that it is too spicy. Boiling it and then slicing it must have made a difference. He didn't care for the sauce. I am not too crazy about the cumin. Thank you.

 

[Tea Girl]

This is a great recipe that I can see making more often the future. I am fan of vodka sauces, though I had them mainly with just a bit of bacon in, not with veggies and sausage. It makes more of a complete meal, which is really nice. I halved the recipe as there are only 2 of us, which was enough because we are both stuffed. My DH doesn't usually scrape the pot for the last of the sauce, and he did with this recipe. You can't get Italian sausage here so I used Recipe #178446 and skipped to step 3. Thanks for sharing!