A quick and delicious midweek meal that the entire family enjoys is a luxury we do not often get. This sauce is so tasty and all you need to do is put on two pots of water – one for the high protein pasta and one for the low. I am a huge fan of Aproten pasta, just make sure the water is at a full boil and is salted before adding the pasta. If you watched the video, know that the vodka fumes must have gotten to me. You need to weigh out the sauce before combining it with the low protein pasta!
Penne a la Vodka Sauce
A quick and delicious midweek meal that the entire family enjoys is a luxury we do not often get. This sauce is so tasty and all you need to do is put on two pots of water – one for the high protein pasta and one for the low. I am a huge fan of Aproten pasta, just make sure the water is at a full boil and is salted before adding the pasta. If you watched the video, know that the vodka fumes must have gotten to me. You need to weigh out the sauce before combining it with the low protein pasta!
Nutrition
Ingredients
Method
- If using whole tomatoes, dice into ½ inch pieces, discarding cores. Set aside.
- Heat butter and oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and pepper flakes; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Remove the saucepan from the flame and add vodka. Return to flame and cook over medium high heat until the alcohol fumes have cooked off and it is reduced to half, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in tomatoes and a teaspoon of salt. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in cream and cook until hot, about 1 minute.
- Meanwhile, bring two large pots with 4 quarts water to boil. Add 1 tablespoon salt to each pot and the pastas. Cook until just shy of al dente, then drain pasta, reserving ¼ cup cooking water, and transfer pasta back to pot. Add sauce to pasta and toss over medium heat until pasta absorbs some of sauce, 1 to 2 minutes, adding reserved cooking water if sauce is too thick. Stir in basil and adjust seasoning with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Serve immediately.
Notes
Reader Q&A:
Q: i want to make this recipe for a pku camp we are attending this weekend. But it’s a 5 hour car ride so I wanted to try and make it ahead of time. Is there anyway I can make this recipe a day ahead? Maybe make the sauce and cook the pasta, but don’t mix them till right before we eat and just reheat it in a sauce pan? A: The sauce can be made ahead of time no problem. I find it is always hard to get the pasta to reheat nicely, but cook it pretty al dente before you leave — do it right before hand and don’t refrigerate. Let it cool completely, toss in a little olive oil and put in ziplock bags. Get the sauce nice and hot at the camp and add the pasta and allow to simmer a minute or two to warm up.
Q: i want to make this recipe for a pku camp we are attending this weekend. But it’s a 5 hour car ride so I wanted to try and make it ahead of time. Is there anyway I can make this recipe a day ahead? Maybe make the sauce and cook the pasta, but don’t mix them till right before we eat and just reheat it in a sauce pan? A: The sauce can be made ahead of time no problem. I find it is always hard to get the pasta to reheat nicely, but cook it pretty al dente before you leave — do it right before hand and don’t refrigerate. Let it cool completely, toss in a little olive oil and put in ziplock bags. Get the sauce nice and hot at the camp and add the pasta and allow to simmer a minute or two to warm up.
