(Source: https://www.americastestkitchen.com/recipes/3183-penne-alla-vodka)
Penne alla Vodka
Appears in Cook's Illustrated November/December 2006, America's Test Kitchen TV Season 8: Pasta and Tomatoes, Reimagined
Splashes of vodka and cream can turn run-of-the-mill tomato sauce into luxurious restaurant fare—or a heavy, boozy mistake. We set out to fine-tune this modern classic.
SERVES 4
TIME 50 minutes
Why This Recipe Works
To achieve a sauce for our penne alla vodka recipe with the right balance of sweet, tangy, spicy, and creamy, we pureed half the tomatoes (which helped the sauce cling nicely to the pasta) and cut the rest into chunks. For sweetness, we added sautéed minced onions. We found we needed a liberal amount of vodka to cut through the richness and add zing to the sauce, but we had to add it to the tomatoes early on to allow the alcohol to mostly (but not completely) cook off and prevent a boozy flavor. Adding a little heavy cream to the sauce gave it a nice consistency, and we finished cooking the penne in the sauce to encourage cohesiveness.
Gather Your Ingredients
- 1 (28 ounce) can whole tomatoes, drained, liquid reserved
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ small onion, minced (about ¼ cup)
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 medium cloves garlic, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 teaspoons)
- ¼–½ teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
- Table salt
- ⅓ cup vodka
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 pound penne pasta
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh basil leaves
- Grated Parmesan cheese, for serving
Before You Begin
So that the sauce and pasta finish cooking at the same time, drop the pasta into boiling water just after adding the vodka to the sauce. If possible, use premium vodka; inexpensive brands will taste harsh in this sauce. Pepper vodka imparts a pleasant flavor and can be substituted for plain.
Instructions
- Puree half of tomatoes in food processor until smooth. Dice remaining tomatoes into ½-inch pieces, discarding cores. Combine pureed and diced tomatoes in liquid measuring cup (you should have about 1⅔ cups). Add reserved liquid to equal 2 cups.
- Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and tomato paste and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are light golden around edges, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and pepper flakes; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Stir in tomatoes and ½ teaspoon salt. Remove pan from heat and add vodka. Return pan to medium-high heat and simmer briskly until alcohol flavor is cooked off, 8 to 10 minutes; stir frequently and lower heat to medium if simmering becomes too vigorous. Stir in cream and cook until hot, about 1 minute.
- Meanwhile, bring 4 quarts water to boil in large Dutch oven over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon salt and pasta. Cook until just shy of al dente, then drain pasta, reserving ¼ cup cooking water, and transfer pasta back to Dutch oven. Add sauce to pasta and toss over medium heat until pasta absorbs some of sauce, 1 to 2 minutes, adding reserved cooking water if sauce is too thick. Stir in basil and adjust seasoning with salt. Divide among pasta bowls and serve immediately, passing Parmesan separately.
