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Year of the Noodle: Week 9
I’ve finally purchased a pasta maker. As I write this, it is on it’s way from Amazon, or more accurately one of their resellers (I bought a used one.) I’m very excited. I like kitchen gadgets. And I like fresh pasta. Double win.
In the meantime, dried pasta still ruled this week’s recipe. How do you make dried pasta a little more interesting? Add booze to it. Hence the Penne a la Vodka. Buy the cheap stuff for this recipe – I doubt you could tell the difference. That is, unless you plan on doing shots whilst cooking, which I do not recommend. Especially not with the cheap stuff :) Happy Tuesday!
Penne a la Vodka
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 shallots, minced
- 1 cup vodka
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 1 can crushed tomatoes (32 ounces)
- Coarse salt and pepper
- 16 ounces penne rigate pasta
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 20 leaves fresh basil, shredded or torn
Directions
- Heat a large skillet over moderate heat. Add oil, butter, garlic, and shallots. Gently saute shallots for 3 to 5 minutes to develop their sweetness. Add vodka to the pan, 3 turns around the pan in a steady stream will equal about 1 cup. Reduce vodka by half, this will take 2 or 3 minutes. Add chicken stock, tomatoes. Bring sauce to a bubble and reduce heat to simmer. Season with salt and pepper.
- While sauce simmers, cook pasta in salted boiling water until cooked to al dente (with a bite to it). While pasta cooks, prepare your salad or other side dishes.
- Stir cream into sauce. When sauce returns to a bubble, remove it from heat. Drain pasta. Toss hot pasta with sauce and basil leaves.