Creamy Vodka Sauce Over Rigatoni
A Simple and Easy Recipe with Tomatoes, Garlic, Cheese and Cream
Sep 22, 2009
Cooking with alcohol is nothing new, but there are not many popular dishes that utilize strong spirits like vodka. One flavorful and delicious concoction that puts wine to the side and goes straight for the hard stuff is vodka sauce.
It is rich and creamy, and, when prepared correctly, vodka sauce can be velvety smooth as well. It is best served with textured pastas like penne or rigatoni so the sauce clings to the grooves.
As pasta sauces and Italian traditions go, Vodka sauce is a new arrival on the culinary scene. There are competing theories about its origins, but none claim that this neo-delicacy dates any further back than the 1970s. Today, restaurant goers can find the most common Penne alla Vodka on menus throughout North America and northern Italy.
Why Cook with Vodka?
Whether added to a dish or drunk along side, alcohol enhances the flavor of food. Vodka is considered by many to be flavorless and tasteless, but its addition to a cream sauce provides a solid benefit. Primarily, the alcohol in vodka brings out the flavor of the tomatoes and peppers and reducins the acidity of the tomatoes as it cooks off. Secondarily, vodka and alcohol, in general, bring down the temperature of lactose products like cream and cheese. This cooling ability allows the sauce to simmer longer to enhance and add flavor without curdling.
When selecting a vodka for the recipe, follow this cardinal rule: “Don’t cook with anything you would not drink.” This extends to any alcohol, including wine.
Here is a recipe for a quick-fix vodka sauce served over rigatoni.
Ingredients:
- 1 quart Fresh Marinara with Herbs
- 1 cup of Vodka
- 1 ½ teaspoons of red chili flakes.
- 2 tablespoons of butter
- ½ cup of heavy cream
- 1/3 cup of fresh parsley, chopped finely.
- ¼ cup of shredded romano cheese
- ¼ cup of parmesan cheese
- 1 pound of Rigatoni
Directions:
- In a medium saucepan or dutch oven, melt butter and add chili flakes. Cook for one minute. Add one quart of Fresh Marinara with Herbs and vodka. Simmer on medium heat until the sauce reduces, approximately 20 minutes. Add the heavy cream, stirring and reducing the heat so it does not curdle. Do not bring to a boil. Add shredded Romano and parmesan cheeses. Stir until cheese is melted.
- In a large pot, bring water to a boil, and fix rigatoni according to package directions. Drain.
- Toss sauce with cooked rigatoni. Promptly serve family style or on individual plates. Garnish serving platter with fresh parsley.
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