Photo: Penne with Vodka Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 quart Simple Tomato Sauce, recipe follows, or store-bought marinara sauce, blended until smooth
- 1 cup vodka
- 1/2 cup heavy cream, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
- 1 pound penne
Directions
Simmer the tomato sauce and vodka in a heavy large skillet over low heat until the mixture reduces by 1/4, stirring often, about 20 minutes. Stir the cream into the tomato and vodka sauce. Simmer over low heat until the sauce is heated through. Stir in the Parmesan cheese until melted and well blended.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Drain the pasta and transfer it to the pan with the sauce, and toss to coat.
Simple Tomato Sauce:
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
2 (32-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
4 to 6 basil leaves
2 dried bay leaves
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, optional
In a large casserole pot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft and translucent, about 2 minutes. Add celery and carrot and season with salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, basil, and bay leaves and reduce the heat to low. Cover the pot and simmer for 1 hour or until thick. Remove bay leaves and taste for seasoning. If sauce tastes too acidic, add unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, to round out the flavor.
Pour half the tomato sauce into the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth. Continue with remaining tomato sauce.
If not using all the sauce, allow it to cool completely and then pour 1 to 2 cup portions into plastic freezer bags. Freeze for up to 6 months.
Yield: 6 cups
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes
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By laurietabu
McHenry, IL
on January 14, 2012
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Delicious! I reduced it longer than the 20 minutes, added sauteed shrimp and mushrooms after cream, very tasty. I also liked the tomato sauce, froze some of both for future use.
By whositdc
on December 05, 2011
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Follow the recipe and you will love this. Used Giada's simple sauce recipe and full amount of vodka. You must cook it down after adding the vodka. The 20 minutes she suggests is just a suggestion. It has to reduce. That said: Family loved it! In addition to the listed ingredients, crisped 1/8 lb pancetta in the pan prior to adding tomato sauce. Perfect. If you are feeding 6 people, you should make a larger batch -- they will want large helpings of this! My family of three ate more than half of it, and one of them is only 7 yo!
By adaigbo
on November 15, 2011
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"OMG!!! I just made this tonight for the very first time and I cleaned my plate. lol My big brother loved it too. Besides adding some boneless chicken breast to it, I didn't subtract anything from the recipe. I followed it to the Tee and the vodka I used was diluted vodka, which was the only one I had in the house. And still, the result was sooo yummy!!! I absolutely loved the outcome. I have some sauce left over which I'm freezing for next week. It is sooo good, I'm gonna make it monthly now. Thank you!!!
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