This Weekend Shout-out is to Gwendolyn at Patent and the Pantry for her post on Penne alla Vodka (and because I love her header photo.) You’d think, what an elementary sauce? But this one caught my eye because the vodka is not cooked in the sauce. No, you don’t just drink it while you cook. It does go in the pasta dish. But since you don’t cook it, I had to wonder, would it taste particularly strong? It was just right, but Lon said he did kind of feel it. haha
The only big change I made was to use a raspberry flavored vodka, Smirnoff to be exact. Initially, this was just because it’s the only vodka I have at the moment, but I got really curious about how the raspberry would effect the vodka sauce. I was wondering if you would taste it at all, and if so, would it be favorable? Oh boy do you taste the raspberry. You can’t miss it. You can smell it too and the resulting dish is so unique. We both did enjoy it but it is quite a departure from what you’d expect when calling something a vodka sauce.
Instead of penne, I used Trofie, a cool twisty pasta I picked up at the food show from Granda Tradizioni. We both really liked it.
Trofie alla Raspberry Vodka
~approximately 5 servings
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1 (28 oz) can peeled plum tomatoes
- 1 lb dry Trofie
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1/2 cup raspberry flavored vodka
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 5 or 6 pieces
- kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- parmesan (optional)
Instructions –
1. Start a pot of salted water for the pasta. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a medium sized pot, on medium-low heat. Add garlic and saute just until starting to golden. Add onions with a little salt. Stir around until soft and translucent.
2. Add the tomatoes and stir around. Break them up with a wooden spoon. Simmer and reduce liquid for 10 minutes, while stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, cook the pasta to al dente.
3. When the sauce has reduced, remove from the heat and sir in cream. Season to taste.
4. When the pasta is done, drain and return to the pot (no heat). Stir in vodka, butter, and some salt, until the butter melts. Add the sauce and adjust to taste. Serve with parmesan if desired.
oh I loooove that kooky pasta shape! And with raspberry flavored vodka, or Smirnoff in the sauce? cool!
Looks simple & delicious!
This sounds like a cool pasta and I must try this recipe. One request – could you experiment with a wood-flavoured liquor and it could go well with a smoked cheese or bacon?
Hi Jessica
I love finding new pasta shapes, I think I bring more pasta back from Italy than wine lol, you dish looks great, especially with the addition of the vodka!
Kirti – When you say a “wood-flavoured liquor”, do you mean something like a whisky? I’ve definitely had a whisky or two that are very smokey and woodsy. That could be a really interesting idea with the smoked cheese and maybe a smoked bacon. It’d be a completely different recipe than this, and would be fun to try.
Thanks!
How is the Trofie different from Gemelli? it’s hard to tell from the pictures.
Kasi, these links have pics and explanations: this is Trofie and here’s Gemelli
kudos for some experimentation in the kitchen! Penne alla vodka is one of my favorite things to eat, in fact, I am beginning to search for the perfect recipe to make for myself for my birthday this month. Your plate looks fantastic 🙂