Pasta Penne Alla Vodka

Pasta Penne Alla Vodka

I have made this recipe quite a few times and have received great reviews. The recipe has been experimented with a little and the recipe I have come up with is a good combination of flavors that dance on your pallet. Unfortunately my supply of home grown tomatoes has come to an end. The next time I cook my pasta penne ala vodka I will need to use canned tomatoes or at least store bought fresh. May be I will not do this and just save this dish for when I have my garden variety tomatoes fresh and ripe from the vine? Who knows only time will tell.

The first step I have found useful do in advance because it is quite time consuming is to peel and chop the tomatoes. If you are going to use canned tomatoes you can jump right in by just copping the onion and cloves of garlic otherwise prepping the tomatoes will take some time. Take enough fresh tomatoes to make a total of approximately 2 cups with liquid included. Half of these you will chop the other puree in a food processor.

The peeling process I have found to be easy but take a little coordination. Basically you get a pot of water boiling, put the tomatoes in it and watch for when the skins on the tomatoes start to crack. This is the point when the skin will peel easily. Once the skin is peeled you can process the tomatoes any way you see fit. Another thing is to use at least medium sized tomatoes or else you will have more work than you bargained for. Use you smaller home grown tomatoes in a salad.

Next take 2 table spoons of extra virgin olive oil and pour it into a large skillet or you can use a Dutch oven if you like. Get the oil shimmering, just starting to smoke and put in a medium sized minced shallot and one table spoon of tomato paste. I put in the tomato paste first and stir it a bit before the onions. It gives the paste time to melt. Saute' these until golden brown about 3 minutes.

Now add 2 cloves minced garlic and crushed red pepper and saute' for 30 seconds. You say how much crushed red pepper? Well for my family I use quarter teaspoon but if you want take it up a notch use a half teaspoon. Remember this is not penne arabiate. You want all the flavors to come out, not just hot or garlic, etc, etc. Also in the mean time get a large pot of water boiling with a good amount of salt. You will need this soon to cook the pasta. The pasta should be cooking while the sauce is finishing.

Now stir in the tomatoes you prepped earlier, half a teaspoon salt and 1/3 cup Grey Goose Vodka or your favorite vodka. You may want to turn off the flame when you do this. This is not a flambe'. The type of vodka you use is up to you. I like to be relaxed and sip on a Grey Goose Martini while I make this. Make sure you use green vermouth marinated olives and Kina Lillet for the martini that is. Simmer on medium high heat for about 10 minutes. You can start to adjust the sauce for salinity now or wait until the end but I find that half a teaspoon is just a bit less than I like.

 By now the water for the pasta should be boiling so put in the penne. I like to use a good grade of Italian pasta. Look on the box so that you can time the cooking. I finish cooking the pasta in the sauce so when the pasta has about 3 or 4 minutes left it will go into my sauce and finish. This will let the pasta finish al dente like I like it and not over cooked. Once the sauce has been cooking 8 to 10 minutes add in my secret ingrediente, Mascarpone cheese. You can use heavy cream if you like but I have found that the Mascarpone adds a cheesier creamier flavor that is sooo good. I have tried a couple of brands and so far the Bel Gioioso brand is slightly better than the rest. If you have a favorite try it. Once you try this pasta you will want to make it often, it is that good!

The mascarpone will slowly melt as you stir. It will slowly become part of this rich sauce. See how the color is changing? Now is the time to check if the sauce has enough salt. Be careful here, there is a fine line between just right and too much. Remember you will serve this with finely shredded Parmesan or Pecorino Romano for some extra zest.  In the meantime finely chop a nice bunch of fresh basil leaves to end up with 2 table spoons chopped. Now once the sauce is blended bring over the under done pasta that is cooking. Use some of the water from the pasta as you do this to adjust the thickness of the sauce. If a little more water comes in it will evaporate. All the time the sauce is still cooking a medium to medium high heat.

 Add the fresh basil and continue stirring until well blended. Give the dish another taste for the right amounts of salt. If you need to add a sprinkle or two now is the time. Turn off heat and serve immediately. This is a thick rich creamy sauce that will coagulate after little time. So enjoy it soon after making this wonderful dish.

Bon Appetite!!