Penne alla Vodka
The 1980s Italian-American favourite — penne in a blush-pink sauce of tomato, cream and a splash of vodka, which sharpens the tomato and helps the cream and acidity hold together.
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 400 g penne rigate
- 30 g butter
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 shallots, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 0.5 tsp dried chilli flakes
- 3 tbsp double-concentrated tomato purée
- 400 g tomato passata
- 60 ml vodka
- 150 ml double cream
- 60 g vegetarian hard cheese or Parmesan, finely grated
- 10 leaves fresh basil leaves
- to taste salt
Nutrition (estimated)
medium confidenceRecipe total: 1565 kcal · P 42.2g · C 70.1g · F 113.6g
Estimated from 12 of 13 ingredients
Approximate estimate, calculated from the ingredients.
Video
Steps
Steps
- 1Bring a large pan of water to the boil and salt it generously.
- 2Melt the butter with the oil in a wide frying pan over medium heat and soften the shallots for 4 minutes without colouring, then add the garlic and chilli flakes for 1 minute.
- 3Stir in the tomato purée and fry it for 2–3 minutes until it darkens to brick red — cooking the purée is where the depth of the sauce comes from.
- 4Pour in the vodka, scraping the pan, and let it bubble for 1 minute to cook off the raw alcohol, then add the passata and simmer for 8 minutes.
- 5Meanwhile cook the penne until 1 minute short of al dente and reserve a cupful of the cooking water.
- 6Lower the heat under the sauce, stir in the cream and season with salt; the sauce should turn an even coral pink.
- 7Add the drained penne and half the cheese and toss over low heat for 1–2 minutes, adding pasta water until the sauce clings glossily to every tube.
- 8Serve at once with the remaining cheese and the basil torn over the top.
More recipes like this
Questions and answers
How long does Penne alla Vodka take to make?
About 35 minutes: 10 min prep and 25 min cooking.
What ingredients do you need for Penne alla Vodka?
13 ingredients: penne rigate, butter, olive oil, shallots, garlic cloves, dried chilli flakes, double-concentrated tomato purée, tomato passata, vodka, double cream, vegetarian hard cheese or Parmesan, fresh basil leaves and 1 more.
How many servings does this Penne alla Vodka recipe make?
4 servings. The servings buttons above the ingredients rescale every amount.
How many calories are in a serving of Penne alla Vodka?
About 391 kcal, with 10.5 g protein, 17.5 g carbohydrate and 28.4 g fat. This is an estimate from the ingredients, not a lab analysis.
Which diets does this Penne alla Vodka recipe suit?
It is vegetarian.
What cuisine is Penne alla Vodka?
Penne alla Vodka comes from Italian cuisine.
Sign in to rate this recipe.