Emery loves vodka sauce on her pasta. She particularly likes the rigatoni alla vodka from a nearby restaurant, Sciortino’s. It’s delicious. It’s also pricey. Em and I grabbed takeout from Sciortino’s a few weeks ago and our bill was over $50 for two rigatoni alla vodka orders. No drinks. No meat. No salads. As amazing as the food is, I couldn’t help but wonder if I could recreate something similar at home for a fraction of the cost. SPOILER: I can.
I turned to one of my go-to recipe blogs, https://www.saltandlavender.com/, for inspiration and struck gold. Her recipes never fail me. Not only did everyone in my family love this, I also had enough leftover for lunch the next day. If you’re in need of a foolproof pasta with vodka sauce recipe, look no further. I’ll link here and also share below: https://www.saltandlavender.com/penne-alla-vodka-recipe/
Penne Alla Vodka
Ingredients
- 16 ounces uncooked penne pasta
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1 small onion chopped finely
- 2 clove garlic minced
- 0.5 cup vodka
- 0.5 cup tomato paste see note
- 1.5 cup heavy/whipping cream
- Salt & pepper to taste
- Fresh basil, sliced thin optional, to taste
- Freshly grated parmesan cheese optional, to taste
Instructions
- Boil a generously salted pot of water for the penne and cook it al dente according to package directions.
- Meanwhile, add the oil and butter to a skillet over medium heat. Sauté the onion for about 5 minutes or until softened (ok if it lightly browns).
- Stir in the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds.
- Add the vodka and let the sauce bubble for 30 seconds or so.
- Stir in the tomato paste until you’ve got a smooth mixture.
- Stir in the cream, and reduce heat to medium-low. Let the sauce warm through. I find this sauce thickens up very quickly (within a couple minutes), but feel free to cook it a little longer to thicken it up even more.
- Season with salt & pepper as needed. Stir in the fresh basil if using. Toss with the drained pasta (if needed, thin the sauce out a bit with a splash of hot pasta water prior to draining it). Serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese if desired.
Add this to your rotation if you’ve got pasta lovers in your house. Enjoy!
