Penne alla Vodka

Tomato and cream brought together with vodka, which has to be cooked off.

Not vegetarian — contains parmesan whose rennet the source does not name.

Ingredients

• 400 g penne
• 100 ml vodka
• 200 ml double cream
• 150 g tomato purée
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 40 g butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 80 g parmesan, grated
• 1 teaspoon chilli flakes
• 1.5 teaspoons salt

Method

1. Soften the onion in the butter and oil over a low heat for 10 minutes without colouring it.
2. ADD THE TOMATO PUREE AND FRY IT FOR 4 MINUTES, stirring, until it darkens from red to brick. Purée used straight from the tube tastes raw and metallic, and this is the step that fixes that.
3. Add the vodka and the chilli and LET IT BUBBLE FOR A FULL TWO MINUTES. It has to cook off: the point is what the alcohol does on its way out, not having it in the sauce, and under-reduced it leaves a harsh edge you cannot hide.
4. Pour in the cream and simmer gently 5 minutes to a sauce the colour of terracotta.
5. Cook the penne to two minutes short of the packet time.
6. Finish the pasta in the pan with a ladle of its water, tossing for the last two minutes so the sauce tightens onto it rather than sitting around it.
7. Parmesan off the heat, and serve at once.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Italy · All recipes