Description
Vodka sauce is basically the quintessential tomato cream sauce. Check out my Penne alla Vodka recipe for one of the best vodka sauce recipes out there.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 lb penne pasta
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- Pinch red pepper flakes
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- ¼ cup vodka
- 1– 28 oz can whole peeled, San Marzano tomatoes
- ½ cup heavy cream
- Whole small basil leaves or torn larger leaves, for garnish
- Freshly grated parmigiano reggiano cheese, for serving
Instructions
- Cook onions: Warm a large sauce pot over medium-low heat. Add oil, followed by the onions, and season with salt. Maintain heat over low to medium-low, and cook until onions are sweet and caramelized with little to no color, about 40-60 minutes.
- Add garlic & vodka: Stir in garlic and red pepper flakes. Sauté about 30 seconds; do not brown the garlic. Add tomato paste, increase heat to medium and sauté 5-7 mins, or until paste slightly deepens in color. Stir in vodka and reduce to about 1 tablespoon.
- Add tomatoes & cook: Stir in tomatoes, season with salt, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, partially cover and cook about 45-60 minutes, or until sauce is thickened and developed in flavor. Adjust seasoning, as needed.
- Blend: Transfer sauce to a blender and puree until smooth. Return sauce to the pot. Stir in cream and taste again for seasoning.
- Cook pasta: While the sauce is simmering, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. The water should taste like salt water. After the sauce is ready, boil the pasta one minute short of al dente.
- Finish & serve: Add the pasta to the sauce pot and toss to coat. Garnish with basil and serve with freshly grated parmigiano reggiano cheese. Enjoy.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
- Category: Pasta
- Method: Saute
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/6 of pasta
- Calories: 465
- Sugar: 8g
- Sodium: 304mg
- Fat: 14g
- Saturated Fat: 4g
- Carbohydrates: 68g
- Fiber: 4g
- Protein: 12g