Pasta alla Vodka (aka the king of pantry pastas)
RECIPE
▪20g 5-6 cloves garlic, minced/pressed
▪75g or 3-4 shallots, minced
▪30-40g or 1Tbsp canned calabrian chile, chopped
▪Olive oil
▪salt
▪2-3g or 1.5tsp chile flake
▪170g or 1 small can tomato paste
▪100mL or just under 1/2c vodka (sub in white wine if you don’t have vodka on hand)
▪350g or 1.5c heavy cream (if you don’t have cream on hand, use evaporated milk + additional butter and parmesan)
▪60-100g/2-4oz pasta water or hot water
▪1lb/.5kg fusilli or pasta of choice
▪75g or 5Tbsp butter
▪50-75g or 1.5c grated aged parmesan
Preheat large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium. Add 40g or 1/4c olive oil to the heavy bottomed pot, followed by shallots, garlic, and a pinch of salt. Stir and sweat for 1-2 minutes.
When translucent, add chile flake and calabrian chiles. Stir to bloom for about a minute.
Add tomato paste, stir and fry off raw flavor for about 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
Add vodka. Stir and cook off alcohol.
Once thickened and vodka has mostly evaporated, add cream. Reduce heat to low and stir in hot water.
Bring large pot of water to a boil.
When pot of water is boiling, add two large handfuls of salt followed by pasta.
Stir and cook to al dente, somewhere around 8-10min.
When done, drain water from pasta, reserving 1-2 cups to adjust vodka sauce consistency if needed.
Add drained pasta to vodka sauce, followed by butter and around 1/2c or 120g pasta cooking liquid. Gently stir to melt butter and combine.
Once butter is melted in, add an additional 1/2c pasta cooking liquid followed by parm.
Remove from heat and stir to combine. If needed, adjust sauce consistency by adding more pasta water to thin it out or more cheese and/or butter to thicken sauce.
Taste for seasoning and add salt if needed. Plate up and garnish with a sprinkle of parm, black pepper, a sprinkle of chile flakes, a drizzle of olive oil, and fresh basil if you have it.
