10 Minute Penne alla Vodka

How many vodka sauces have I made you ask? Too many to count. I have tried them all. One (from my favorite celeb lady chef who’s name rhymes with rina rharten) took an entire day because you had to roast the tomatoes and onions in the oven for like…HOURS but you know what? No one has time for that shit. This recipe will take you 10 minutes, tops. And it is the best vodka sauce I have ever had.

what you need:

• 1 can tomato paste
• 1 T butter
• 1 T olive oil
• ½ cup heavy cream
• 1/8 cup vodka
• 1 T minced garlic
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (optional or add as much or as little as you want!)
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• About 2 cups of dried pasta (use whatever you have, my fave for vodka sauce: penne)

what you need to do:

• Bring large pot of water to a boil. Salt the water to season the noodles. Add noodles to water once it is in a rolling boil.
• In a nonstick pan (THIS is my favorite pan on the planet I use it for everything) on low (3ish heat on the dial) heat your butter and olive oil until butter melts, then add garlic and pepper flakes.
• Once garlic is a little bit browned (think tan- like your body after a nice pool day) add your tomato paste and whisk in until it is as combined as can be. It will be a bit sticky and NOT smooth but just whisk it in for about 2-3 minutes. You want it to be combined and the paste to cook down a bit.
• Whisk in heavy cream and keep on whiskin’ until it is as smooth as possible. Melt that tomato paste into the cream.
• Stir in salt and pepper.
• Add in the booze. Maybe even take a swig of that vodka straight from the bottle if you’re a total monster. Whisk it in until combined.
• Let simmer for about ~8 minutes to let the vodka cook down. Whisk every minute or so. It will thicken while it simmers.
• Your sauce will be done once your pasta is ~al dente (fancy term for cooked all the way through).
• Using a slotted spoon or something similar, add your pasta to the sauce. DO NOT pour out the pasta water or use a colander. SLOTTED SPOON!
• Mix sauce and noods together until fully coated. Let it hang out a bit here to thicken. If your sauce is too thick add in a little bit of pasta water (like 1 T at a time). The starches will help the sauce cling to the pasta and even out the sauce. (This is a trick I use for almost all my sauces, pasta water is a secret weapon in all Italian cooking).
• Plate your pasta and sprinkle on some fresh cracked pepper and/or parm!