Despite being a lifetime pasta lover, I've never truly enjoyed penne alla vodka. No matter if prepared at home, or from a five star restaurant, it never quite did it for me. Be it the chewy bits of meat or gigantic chunks of onion and garlic, something about the texture was just off. Fast forward 20-odd years later my family has taken to simplifying holiday meals. One way we’ve done this is by purchasing pre-made vodka sauce from a local Italian grocery store. I know it may feel sacrilegious but let me tell you, this vodka sauce was one of the best that I’ve ever had. No bits of meat, no chunks of onion. Just a smooth, velvety sauce that coats pasta perfectly and tastes delicious. Now, I like to pride myself on making most of my food from scratch, and so I set off on a journey to try and replicate this sauce to the best of my ability. A couple of YouTube videos later and I was ready to roll. And now you can be too! Please note that I never measure anything out so all ingredients could be adjusted to taste. I’ll provide rough measurements, but your results may vary.
You will need:
One small yellow onion
A couple cloves of garlic
One 28 oz can of San Marzano tomatoes
Heavy cream
Fresh basil
Crushed red pepper
Dried oregano
Pasta of your choice
Olive oil
Vodka
Start prepping by chopping up your aromatics and finely dice up half the onion and 2 or 3 garlic cloves. Once you’ve done this, open the can of tomatoes, dump them into a large clean bowl and begin crushing them with your hands (or a wooden spoon, if you’re not feeling as savage as I am). Once the tomatoes are fully crushed, throw a couple of basil leaves into the bowl.
Set the bowl aside and coat the bottom of a cold frying pan with olive oil before adding your onions to it. Turn your stovetop on to medium heat and begin sweating the onions until they're translucent. This is where you'll add your seasonings (oregano and pepper flakes) as well. Next, add the garlic and let that cook. Once the onions and garlic are browned, but not burnt, take the pan off the heat and pour in about half a cup of vodka to deglaze. Return the pan to the stove. Add the tomatoes to the pan when you notice the vodka has been reduced by half. Cook for about 30 minutes, tasting periodically to see if needs any salt, until the liquid has reduced into a nice chunky sauce. You should also begin boiling your water at this point. Stir in the heavy cream once you’ve reached your desired thickness. After adding the cream, drop your pasta into the boiling water and cook for about 2 minutes less than what the package says. The amount of cream you add will entirely depend on how pink/creamy you want your sauce to be. Cook for a little more and continue tasting for seasoning. Don’t be afraid to use salt and pepper, the salt will enhance all flavors and the pepper adds a nice bit of heat and depth to the sauce. When the pasta is done, use a slotted spoon or tongs to add the pasta to the sauce. Finish cooking the pasta by tossing it in the sauce, adding some pasta water to get the right consistency. Finish it off by grating some Parmesan cheese and giving it one final mix. Plate up with some fresh basil and more grated cheese, and dig in!
I hope you all enjoyed this first entry in my reciblog series. Now, I’d like to know more about you! What’s your favorite type of pasta to pair with vodka sauce? For example, instead of the traditional penne, I used a fresh fusili I found out at a local market. The sauce clung really well to them and they were a little different from the penne, which can be a bit boring at times. Let us know what YOU prefer down below!
You will need:
One small yellow onion
A couple cloves of garlic
One 28 oz can of San Marzano tomatoes
Heavy cream
Fresh basil
Crushed red pepper
Dried oregano
Pasta of your choice
Olive oil
Vodka
Start prepping by chopping up your aromatics and finely dice up half the onion and 2 or 3 garlic cloves. Once you’ve done this, open the can of tomatoes, dump them into a large clean bowl and begin crushing them with your hands (or a wooden spoon, if you’re not feeling as savage as I am). Once the tomatoes are fully crushed, throw a couple of basil leaves into the bowl.
Set the bowl aside and coat the bottom of a cold frying pan with olive oil before adding your onions to it. Turn your stovetop on to medium heat and begin sweating the onions until they're translucent. This is where you'll add your seasonings (oregano and pepper flakes) as well. Next, add the garlic and let that cook. Once the onions and garlic are browned, but not burnt, take the pan off the heat and pour in about half a cup of vodka to deglaze. Return the pan to the stove. Add the tomatoes to the pan when you notice the vodka has been reduced by half. Cook for about 30 minutes, tasting periodically to see if needs any salt, until the liquid has reduced into a nice chunky sauce. You should also begin boiling your water at this point. Stir in the heavy cream once you’ve reached your desired thickness. After adding the cream, drop your pasta into the boiling water and cook for about 2 minutes less than what the package says. The amount of cream you add will entirely depend on how pink/creamy you want your sauce to be. Cook for a little more and continue tasting for seasoning. Don’t be afraid to use salt and pepper, the salt will enhance all flavors and the pepper adds a nice bit of heat and depth to the sauce. When the pasta is done, use a slotted spoon or tongs to add the pasta to the sauce. Finish cooking the pasta by tossing it in the sauce, adding some pasta water to get the right consistency. Finish it off by grating some Parmesan cheese and giving it one final mix. Plate up with some fresh basil and more grated cheese, and dig in!
I hope you all enjoyed this first entry in my reciblog series. Now, I’d like to know more about you! What’s your favorite type of pasta to pair with vodka sauce? For example, instead of the traditional penne, I used a fresh fusili I found out at a local market. The sauce clung really well to them and they were a little different from the penne, which can be a bit boring at times. Let us know what YOU prefer down below!
http://themeasurablemaker.blogspot.com/2013/02/penne-alla-norris.html?m=1
ReplyDeleteThat’s my version from my recipe blog that I don’t update half as much as I should. Add the ham and pancetta sometime, the chewy meat bits are awesome. :)