Penne With Vodka Sauce & Capicola
photo by lazyme

- Ready In:
- 50mins
- Ingredients:
- 11
- Serves:
-
6
ingredients
- 12 ounces whole wheat penne
- 2 ounces piece capicola or 2 ounces pancetta, finely diced
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1⁄2 cup vodka
- 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 1⁄4 cup half-and-half
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1⁄4 - 1⁄2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1⁄4 cup chopped fresh basil
- fresh ground pepper
directions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
- Cook penne until just tender, 12 minutes or according to package directions.
- Meanwhile, cook capicola (or pancetta) in a large saucepan over medium heat until crisp, about 4 minutes.
- Drain on a paper towel.
- Return the saucepan to medium-low heat; add onion and garlic and cook until the onion is translucent, about 1 minute.
- Increase heat to high; add vodka and bring to a boil.
- Boil until reduced by about half, about 2 minutes.
- Stir in tomatoes, half-and-half, Worcestershire sauce and crushed red pepper to taste; reduce to a simmer and cook until thickened, about 10 minutes.
- Drain the pasta; serve topped with the sauce and sprinkled with the capicola (or pancetta), basil and pepper.
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Reviews
-
Very much enjoyed, thank you! I didn't look closely enough and used spaghetti rather than penne, my mistake, but equally delicious! I also had to use bacon, fried and crumbled, again, it was very good. We really enjoyed this rich sauce with a bit of a kick! :) I used my own oven-roasted tomatoes, and this was a really good dinner, thank you! Made for PRMR tag game.
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
AZPARZYCH
Peoria, 41
<p><span><strong>I am a stay at home mom to two wonderful boys; Joshua (8years), Kaiden (5 years), and baby GIRL, Madalynn (19 months)! I also have two fur babies (cats); Kobee, AJ; we had to put our youngest cat Sly down Jan 2014. :(. I am also married to my best friend, Jeff and have been since April 2005. I love cooking, hate cleaning and will do whatever I can to get out of it! I love grilling and baking. I do most of the grilling at my house, and bake for almost a week straight at Christmas time! I can make or will attempt just about anything, though I rarely make brownies, my husband's are the best! Homemade breads are not my friend, so I am always working on bread baking.</strong></span></p>
<p><span><strong>As for recipe ideas (besides zaar) Cooking Light Cookbooks are my favorites. I love to make new meals and try new things; it is hard though because my husband is picky when it comes to veggies (and hates seafood); If it were up to him we would have baked-bread crumb chicken and white rice at least one meal a day! Over the past couple years with zaar, I have found tons of new recipes my family normally wouldn’t eat but have been happily surprised with new favorites.</strong></span></p>
<p><span><strong>I love to join in all of the tag games; I haven't been as present as I would like, but as soon as my Jeff is back from working in Ohio I will be back in full tagging mode! </strong></span></p>
<p><span><strong>Cooking is my hobby and passion, I always like to host the family get togethers and volunteer for the potluck dishes. Most of all though are my kids; being home all day with them is fun and challenging, but I wouldn’t trade it for any salary!!</strong></span></p>