Today is officially NSW’s last day of lockdown. It’s been a long 107 days! I can’t wait to finally leave my LGA (even though it’s a wonderful LGA to live in during a lockdown - I mean, parks, the harbour, city views, a tonne of cafes and restaurants for great takeaways). We’re planning a weekend down the coast to see my family. I can’t wait. 

I realised though, that throughout this 4 month lockdown, I have not shared one single recipe with you guys. And I did cook some fabulous meals! Trust me! I know, I know - never trust someone that says, ”Trust me.”

The pasta recipe I’m sharing today is so delicious and so easy to prepare. It definitely over delivers on the flavour front. It’s tomato and cream based with a generous splash of vodka. Before you convince yourself there's no way that a little tomato paste,  cream and alcohol can come together in mere minutes to make one of the best homemade pasta sauces you've ever had, hear me out. Better yet, make this recipe for yourself.  

Apparently, pasta with vodka sauce is an Italian-American invention. Alcohol (vodka) is used to release the flavours from tomatoes, but in Italy, the alcohol is usually wine. Penne alla vodka was first seen in 1974 in a cookbook by actor Ugo Tognazzi and the dish was called “pasta all’infuriata or furious pasta.  The furious term is probably used to describe the heat of the Calabrian chillies used in the recipe. These chillies are medium-hot and named after the Italian region of their origin, Calabria. In my recipe, I used whole dried chillies that I chopped up. Oh, and if you can’t handle the heat, skip the chillies all together.

Total cooking time: 40 minutes

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tbsp olive oil for pan

• ½  onion, finely chopped

• salt to taste

• 3 cloves garlic grated into a paste

• 1 tsp finely chopped Calabrian chili peppers or 2-3 dried chillies I use these. But these are good too.

• ½  cup tomato paste

• ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes

• 1 tbsp unsalted butter

• 500g penne (or a pasta of your choice). I use Barilla Penne Rigate.

• ¼  cup vodka

• ⅔  cup thickened cream

• ⅔  cup parmesan cheese

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Season a large skillet with olive oil and put on medium heat.

2. Add the onion. Season with a generous pinch of salt and cook for 5 minutes, tossing every 1 minute or so until the onion is softened and translucent.

3. Add the chilli and garlic and cook for 2 minutes, until fragrant.

4. Adjust the heat to medium high and add the tomato paste to the pan. Mix to combine with the other ingredients, then add 1 tbsp of butter into the tomato paste mixture. Let it melt, add a generous pinch of salt and stir together. Cook the tomato paste for between 7-9 minutes, letting the tomato paste brown on the bottom of the pan. If the pan is drying up, add a little more olive oil. Stir every 1-2 minutes or so to prevent uneven cooking.

5. While the tomato paste is cooking, fill a large pot with water and add salt. Bring to a boil.

6. Pour the vodka into the pan, over top of the tomato paste and scrape up all golden brown bits from the bottom and mix all of the ingredients together. Adjust the heat to low and add the sun-dried tomatoes and the cream. Stir until combined and let it simmer on low heat.

7. Add the pasta to the pot and cook until al dente according to the package instructions.

8. Adjust the heat on the sauce to medium-low, then transfer ⅔ cup of pasta water and shredded parmesan to the sauce and stir together. 

9. Transfer the al dente pasta to the sauce and toss until fully coated. Feel free to shred more Parmesan onto the pasta as you toss it to develop a stickier texture. If you want the sauce to be more "saucy," add more pasta water. 

10. Enjoy!