I’m thrilled to share that my most recent food challenge came from our eldest niece, Mia K. Mia is a first year college student in Chicago. She came east to spend her Easter break with Ed and me. We were so excited to have some quality time with her.
We wanted to make a meal that Mia was excited about so we asked her what she’d like to have for dinner one of the nights she was with us. She immediately suggested Penne alla Vodka. She gets it at Barnelli’s – the pasta arm of the famous Portillo’s hot dog restaurants – in Chicago. I’ve never cooked it before, nor am I even sure I’ve ever eaten it. So I pored through our cookbooks but didn’t find much of anything – so then I went searching online. Fortunately J. Kenji López-Alt and Daniel Gritzer at Serious Eats came through with a very satisfying recipe. J. Kenji López-Alt explains why you don’t want to skip the vodka in Does Vodka Sauce Really Need Vodka?
It’s unclear where or who came up with the recipe for Penne alla Vodka. Some say Rome or northern Italy, some say Italian-Americans in New York City and some say specifically Studio 54 during the disco era. The latter seems to be a myth but I was too amused by it not to include it.
Regardless of its origins, it is a pasta sauce that deserves attention as it is wonderfully flavorful, smooth and creamy. The vodka adds a bright flavor to the tomatoes. While there is heavy cream in this sauce, it isn’t too rich (not at all like an alfredo sauce).
Please use a tubular pasta such as penne or rigatoni as this sauce benefits from a pasta with more surface area. In this recipe you add the al dente pasta to the sauce to finish cooking it and then stir for a bit. As a result, every piece of pasta is well coated in the sauce. Some recipes call for adding meat (such as diced pancetta) or chunky tomatoes. While I’m sure that is tasty, you’d lose the divine coating of the pasta from the smooth sauce.
What is most important is that Mia loved this (as did Ed and I). She was happy that we had enough leftovers for her to have as a snack the next day. We cannot wait to make it for her again.
| Penne alla Vodka | | Print |
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into a few pieces
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 3 medium cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (or to taste)
- Kosher salt
- 1 6 ounce can tomato paste
- 1 14-1/2 ounces can whole peeled tomatoes (do not drain)
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 pound penne or other short tubular pasta (see Notes)
- ¼ cup vodka, plus a bit more if desired
- 2 ounces (~ ⅔ cup) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus more for serving
- In a 4 quart pan, melt the butter over medium heat.
- Add the onions, garlic, and red pepper flakes and season lightly with salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are very soft but not browned, about 15 minutes (lower heat if needed to prevent browning).
- Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, until tomato paste is fragrant and thick, about 3 minutes.
- Stir in whole tomatoes with their liquid. Bring to a simmer, then cook, stirring often and crushing the whole tomatoes roughly with a spoon, until sauce has thickened slightly, about 10 minutes.
- Add cream, and stir to incorporate.
- Transfer sauce to a blender, and blend until very smooth (see Notes). Wipe out the pot and return blended sauce to it. Season lightly with salt. (The vodka sauce can be made ahead through this step. Keep the blended sauce refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 5 days. To use, reheat sauce in a pot over medium heat and then resume the recipe from here.)
- In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook pasta until not quite al dente, about 3 minutes less than the package directs.
- The sauce should be at a gentler simmer (medium or medium-low heat) – adjust heat if necessary. About 1 minute before the pasta is done, stir the vodka into the tomato sauce.
- Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pasta directly to the sauce pot along with ½ cup of pasta water – don’t discard the remaining pasta water as you may need some additional. (Alternatively, reserve 2 cups of pasta water, drain pasta in a colander, and add to drained pasta to sauce with ½ cup of the reserved water).
- Increase heat to medium-high, and cook, stirring constantly, until pasta is well coated in sauce and reaches the al dente stage, about 3 minutes. If sauce thickens too much before pasta is ready, add more pasta water in ¼ cup increments as needed.
- Remove from the pot from the heat and stir in cheese until mixed well.
- Taste for salt, and add more if needed.
- Optional: If you can't detect the vodka in the sauce, you can add a few drops more and stir it in before serving. Exactly how alcohol-forward you want the sauce is a preference of taste, but be careful because too much vodka will ruin this lovely pasta dish.
- Spoon pasta and sauce into plates or bowls. Top with additional grated cheese.
- Serve immediately.
* I recommend a blender for this recipe rather than an immersion blender. There likely isn’t enough liquid to fully emerge the immersion blender which will cause splattering (and a mess!).
Source: Variation of a recipe from Serious Eats
My college-aged kid asks for pasta and vodka sauce every time she comes home. This time, I’m going to make it (rather than buy it) for her. She’s seen the post, and can’t wait. She even said, “That looks like the perfect vodka sauce color.” And the out-of-college vegetarian is equally excited about this recipe!
Michele – I love this! I hope everyone likes it. Thank you for sharing.
Nicole! I’m so glad you did this one. Isabella and I are going to try it tonight. We love pasta with vodka sauce (or “pink sauce” as many places call it–but pink sauce doesn’t guarantee vodka). My family and I order it everywhere we can, but I’ve never made it. There is a restaurant in Newport Beach CA that we go to called Mamma D’s. The pink sauce is their specialty, and it does have chunks of tomato in it. The tomato chunks actually add a nice bit of texture without taking anything away from the sauce. If you are ever in So Cal, definitely check it out! But don’t go without telling me–we will be there! 🙂
Lisa – Thank you for your note. I will try some chopped tomatoes the next time we make this. Don’t worry, I will not go to Mamma Do’s without you. I hope you are well. Thank you for sharing this story.