Penne alla Vodka
Penne alla vodka is a pasta lover's dream come true! This mouth-watering pasta dish is ready in just 25 minutes and made with penne, vodka, cream and tomatoes. You might be asking: "vodka in my pasta?" Yes! And there's a reason for it - vodka serves as an emulsifier, allowing the water and lipids to remain mixed together. And it solvates certain flavours from the tomato that would otherwise be inaccessible in water.
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1 shallot
- 4 cloves garlic crushed
- 1/2 tsp chilli flakes (if you don't like chilli, don't use it)
- 200 g tomato puree
- 1 cup vodka (We used Cheshire vodka)
- 200 ml double cream
- 400 g penne pasta
- 60 g parmesan and extra to serve
- handful of basil leaves
- handful of spinach
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the shallot and salt and pepper. Genttly fry over a low heat for 10 mins or until softened and translucent. Add the garlic and chilli flakes and cook for 30 seconds. Stir through the tomato puree, cook for 2 mins, then stir through the vodka and cook for 3 mins. Quickly stir through the cream to combine, then remove from the heat.
- Put water to boil in a pot. Add some salt in the water. When it starts to boil add pasta.
- Once pasta is cooked, drain and reserve 150ml cooking water. Add roughly 50ml of the water to the tomato sauce, then tip in the pasta and cheese, tossing everything together over a low heat until well coated and glossy (loosen with a splash more of the cooking water if it’s a little dry). Season to taste, then serve with a sprinkling of the extra parmesan, a good grinding of black pepper and the basil leaves scattered over the top.