Vodka Sauce

This is a great, flavorful sauce traditionally served with fusilli pasta, but would also be appropriate with penne or rigatoni.

The sauce uses a base of either Keri’s quick tomato sauce or slow-cooked tomato sauce . Since I almost always have the basic tomato sauce in my freezer, it is the one that I tend to use most, but either one works equally well.

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Vodka Sauce

Author: keriawilliams

Ingredients

Servings

• 2 cups basic tomato sauce (or Keri's quick tomato sauce--see links above.)
• 3 Tbsp vodka
• 2 Tbsp butter
• ¹⁄₂ tsp red pepper flakes (or more if you like it a little spicier!)
• ¹⁄₂ cup heavy whipping cream
• ¹⁄₄ cup parmesan cheese (grated)
• ¹⁄₂-1 cup reserved pasta water
• ¹⁄₂ box fusilli pasta (1/2 a standard box)
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Prepare pasta according to directions, reserving a cup (or more) of the pasta water.

1. Heat a large, heavy saute pan (4-5 quarts) over medium-high heat and add butter. Let the butter melt and get foamy. Add the red pepper flakes and cook for a seconds until they become very aromatic, but not scorched. Add tomato sauce and let the tomato sauce heat through and reduce a little. There will be some sticking to the pan--this is ok because you're going to deglaze the pan with the vodka in the next step. Continue to cook the tomato sauce until it turns a little darker, but don't let it burn--you're just looking to deepen the flavors a little.

   

1. Add the vodka and using a wooden spatula, deglaze the pan, scraping up all those yummy bits that stuck to the bottom of the pan. continue to stir and scrape until the vodka has been incorporated into the sauce and most of the alcohol has burned off--about 5 minutes.

   

1. Stir in the heavy cream and parmesan cheese. Once these are incorporated, add the pasta water to thin the sauce out a little. You may not need the entire cup of water. The sauce should be thick enough to stick to the pasta, but still have a smooth, creamy texture. Taste for salt and pepper and add as necessary.

1. After a few minutes of simmering, the sauce should have reduced somewhat and become smooth and creamy. Add the pasta directly to the sauce and toss with tongs. Add a little more pasta water if needed. Serve as a main with a big salad or as a side with almost any protein.