Penne alla vodka
Silky, rosy tomato cream sauce with a gentle kick of chile, clinging to every tube of penne, the restaurant favorite that’s easy at home.
- 40 min total
- 25 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $2.25 a serving
- 710 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegetarian
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 shallot, minced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- ⅓ cup vodka
- 1 can crushed tomatoes, 28 oz
- 12 oz penne
- ⅔ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup grated parmesan, plus more for serving
- ¼ cup fresh basil, torn (optional)
From your pantry
- 1 tbsp salt, plus ½ teaspoon
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
Each serving has about 710 calories, 20 g protein, 85 g carbs and 29 g fat, and costs about $2.25 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No butter? Ghee works.
- No crushed tomatoes? Diced tomatoes work.
- No penne? Rigatoni or elbow macaroni works.
- No grated parmesan? Parmesan wedge works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Fill a large pot with water, add 1 tablespoon of the salt, cover, and over high heat.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
the butter with the oil in a large, deep over medium. Cook the shallot 3 minutes, until soft, then stir in the garlic and pepper flakes for 30 seconds.
Melt. Melting means gently heating something solid, like butter or cheese, until it turns liquid. Low or medium heat keeps it from browning or burning.
How you’ll know: It’s smooth and liquid, and butter may foam a little but hasn’t turned brown.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Medium heatTimer: 3 min 30 sec
Stir in the tomato paste and cook 2 minutes, until it turns brick red.
Medium heatTimer: 2 min
Take the pan off the burner, pour in the vodka, then put it back and 2 minutes, stirring, until it’s by half.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Reduce. Reducing means simmering a liquid with the lid off so some of the water steams away. The sauce gets thicker and its flavor gets stronger.
How you’ll know: The level drops in the pan, and the sauce coats the back of a spoon instead of running off.
Medium heatTimer: 2 min
Dolly’s tip: Always pour alcohol with the pan off the heat. It can flare if it hits a flame or a very hot pan.Add the crushed tomatoes and ½ teaspoon salt, turn the heat to low, and 10 minutes.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Low heatTimer: 10 min
Meanwhile, cook the penne 1 minute less than the package says. Scoop out 1 cup of the , then .
Reserve pasta water. It means scooping out a cup of the starchy cooking water before you drain the pasta. A splash helps the sauce cling and turn silky, and it’s the step everyone forgets.
How you’ll know: A mug of cloudy water is sitting by the stove before the pasta goes into the colander.
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
High heatTimer: 10 min
Stir the cream into the sauce, then the parmesan, until smooth and rosy.
Low heat
Add the penne and a splash of the pasta water and over low heat 1 to 2 minutes, until the sauce clings to every piece.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Low heatTimer: 1 min 30 sec
Dolly’s tip: The starchy water is what makes the sauce silky. Add more a splash at a time if it looks thick.Serve with more parmesan and the basil on top.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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