When eating pasta, do you ever face the dilemma of deciding on whether to a tomato based sauce or creamy sauce? Pasta alla vodka sauce is the best of both worlds. Tomato based and creamy.
I called this pasta alla vodka rather than penne alla vodka, spaghetti alla vodka, or rigatoni alla vodka. Because it’s up to you what type of pasta you want with the sauce!
On to cooking the dish. So first of all, why is there vodka in my pasta? The vodka adds flavour to the dish and is cooked off so you don’t taste it. The vodka improves the flavours and aromas.
Modifications for the recipe:
- Adding a bit extra protein: To add more to the dish and to add some more protein, you can add meats like pancetta, Italian sausage, or meatballs.
- Make it vegan or vegetarian: You can make it vegan or vegetarian friendly by replacing the dairy based products like cream and the cheese with a vegan alternative! You can add veggie friendly proteins too like vegan sausage.
Pasta Alla Vodka
Yield: 4 people
Materials
- 1/2 onion diced
- 2 garlic cloves diced
- 1/2 can tomato puree or you can use tomato paste
- 2/3 cup cream
- 1 cup vodka
- 1 teaspoon chilli flakes
- 1 cup parmesan grated
- 1 cup of your choice of pasta
- Fresh basil for garnish
- Salt / pepper for flavouring
- Additional meat and protein if desired I added sausage
Instructions
- While you prepare the sauce, cook the pasta according to the package directions.
- Cook the onion and garlic in butter until translucent. Once the garlic is cooked, mix in the tomatoes. Then, mix in vodka.
- Simmer the sauce for ~7-10 minutes on medium heat or until the vodka is cooked off. If you are using a more liquid form of tomatoes like canned tomatoes, reduce the tomato down first.
- Mix in the chilli flakes, cream, and parmesan to thicken the sauce. Simmer for another few minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
- Once the sauce is done cooking, mix the pasta in the sauce.
- Serve with additional parmesan cheese on top and basil as a garnish.
