Rigatoni alla Vodka
Since I was a little girl, I’ve loved watching cooking shows. On PBS, KCET, then finally when the Food Network hit, I was in heaven.
Then along came Ina Garten aka the Barefoot Contessa. Ina, in her gorgeous house in the Hamptons cooking easy and delicious meals for her often out of town husband Jeffery and a gaggle of male friends. Just cooking, laughing (with that infectious laugh), gardening, having dinner parties, and enjoying herself in that iconic blue button down shirt.
Oh what a life!
Honestly, she is still goals… so I thought why not make one of her delicious dishes and share it here with you? Veganized, of course.
Penne all Vodka is as iconic as the woman herself, and really easy to make. I’m using rigatoni, just cause I like it, but you could use any tubed pasta you like- I suggest that it’s rigate though, cause the ridges help the sauce adhere to the outside of the pasta.
Ina’s trick (at least I think it’s Ina’s trick…) is to cook the tomato sauce in the oven slowly to condense, sweeten, and intensify that delicious tomato flavor. It’s a small thing that lends to big results.
How easy is that?
Equipment:
Cheese grater if not using pre grated cheese
Large oven-proof saute pan or dutch oven
Sieve or strainer with small holes
Blender or immersion blender
Prep:
Finely chop onions and garlic for sautéing
Grate/shred/microplane cheese
THE MORE YOU KNOW… LOOK FOR THE *💡*FOR TIPS IN THE DIRECTIONS 👇🏾 TO HELP ENSURE YOUR RECIPE COMES OUT PERFECT, EVERY TIME!
INGREDIENTS:
¼ C extra virgin olive oil
1 medium Spanish onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, diced
½ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons dried oregano (Ina uses fresh, which you can too)
1 cup vodka ( I use Tito’s)
2 (28-ounce) cans peeled plum tomatoes
2 tsp. Kosher salt (or to taste)
Freshly ground black pepper
340 g (¾ pound) rigatoni or other tubed pasta
¾ to 1 cup vegan heavy cream (Silk, Califia Farms, Country Crock) I do not suggest coconut cream here
½ C Vegan parmesan, grated ( I like Violife)
Torn or thinly sliced basil
T= tablespoon tsp= teaspoon C= cup g= gram ml= milliliter pinch= around ⅛ of a teaspoon
Preheat oven to 375°
DIRECTIONS:
Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large oven-proof sauté pan or dutch oven- add the onions and garlic to the pan and cook for about 5 minutes until translucent.
Add in the red pepper flakes and dried oregano and cook for 1 minute more. Add the vodka and continue cooking until the mixture is reduced by half.
Meanwhile, drain the tomatoes through a sieve and crush them into the pan with your hands.
Add 2 teaspoons of salt and a pinch of black pepper, then cover the pan with a tight fitting lid and place it in the oven for 1 ½ hours.
When done, remove the pan from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta al dente. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water, then drain and set aside. *💡* Heavily salting your pasta water will result in a tastier final dish. Instead of salt just sitting on top of the pasta, it gets absorbed so that the flavor runs through it. So salting your water like the sea is highly encouraged and recommended.
Place the tomato mixture in a blender and puree in batches until the sauce is a smooth consistency- return the sauce to the pan. *💡* An immersion blender works great here.
Reheat the sauce on medium-high heat and add enough heavy cream to make the sauce a creamy consistency- start with ¾ cup and add more if you’d like.
Let the pasta simmer over medium-low heat for 10 minutes.
Toss the cooked pasta into the sauce- if the sauce has thickened up too much, use your reserved pasta water to thin it out, if you think it needs it- then cook for 2 minutes more.
Stir in the ½ cup Parmesan and do a final taste to make sure your sauce is seasoned perfectly- adjust if needed.
Serve with an additional sprinkle of Parmesan and a sprinkle of torn or sliced basil leaves on each plate.
Enjoy!