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We like to use wine in pasta recipes to enhance the flavors of the pasta sauce, for example. Hard liquor is something we rarely use for cooking… except when it comes to Pasta alla vodka. As the name suggests, vodka plays a significant role in this dish. What may sound a little strange at first is an incredibly delicious pasta dish we love to prepare here. Not just because it tastes good, but also because it’s quick to put on the table ;P
On a weeknight, most of us want dinner to be quick and easy. After a hard day in the office (or working from home) nobody wants to spend hours in the kitchen preparing dinner, right?! ;PI means… you could order something from a delivery service, but that can get expensive quickly. With the right recipes, you can save a lot of money here, and you don’t have to spend a lot of extra time in the kitchen.
The list of ingredients for this pasta dish is pretty straightforward. If you like to mix yourself a cocktail every now and then, you might even have all the ingredients at home. I’m talking about the vodka ;P We always have a bottle of vodka in the kitchen cupboard… even though we rarely drink alcohol. Fortunately, the stuff can be used for cooking and baking as well.
Speaking of baking. Yes, you can use vodka for baking. For example, you can add some vodka to pie dough instead of using ice water only. The pie crust will be more crispy/flaky due to the baked vodka. The alcohol evaporates at a lower temperature compared to water while baking and creates little hollow spaces in the crust – creating a flakier texture. The best example of this is probably my Summer Berry Pie 😉 However, you won’t notice the alcohol in the finished pastry (even though it hasn’t necessarily all evaporated).
If you don’t mind the alcohol flavor in bakes, you might want to try my Gin Tonic Cake. That one has a lot of gin added, and you should definitely be able to taste that it’s been baked! So that one is probably only for gin and tonic fanboys and girls who like to enjoy that drink every once in a while ;P
Anyone who cooks or bakes with alcohol should always keep in mind that the added alcohol never disappears completely. Even though many people think it does. A small amount of alcohol always remains in your bake or whatever you cooked. So in case you are cooking/baking for kids, you might want to keep that in mind. Especially with a pasta dish like this one. There’s certainly still quite a bit of alcohol in the sauce at the end of the cooking time.
If you like pasta dishes, you might want to try one of my other pasta recipes. We love preparing pasta, so there are quite a few recipes on the blog already. My Green Goddess Pasta is quick and easy to prepare and my Gnocchi with Mushrooms, Spinach & Chorizo are incredibly delicious. I can really only recommend trying both recipes.
INGREDIENTS / INGREDIENTS
(4 servings)
some olive oil for frying
1 medium red onion, finely chopped
3-4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. chili flakes
4 tbsp. tomato paste
1/4 cup (60ml) vodka
1/2 cup (120ml) veggie broth
1 cup (240ml) heavy cream
1.8 oz. (50g) Parmesan, grated (plus some more)
1 tbsp. butter
salt, pepper
17.6 oz. (500g) pasta (eg Bombardoni*)
(4 servings)
some olive oil for frying
1 medium red onion, finely chopped
3-4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tsp chili flakes
4 tbsp tomato paste
60ml vodka
120ml vegetable broth
240ml cream
50g Parmesan, grated (plus more)
1 tbsp butter
Salt, pepper
500g pasta (e.g. Bombardoni*)
DIRECTIONS / PREPARATION
1. Peel and finely chop the onion and garlic. Get all other ingredients ready. Have a large pot with salted water ready for the pasta – you might want to start cooking the pasta while still working on the sauce.
2. Add some olive oil to a Dutch oven or large pan and heat up. Add the onion, garlic, oregano, and chili flakes. Sauté everything over medium-high heat until the onions are soft and glossy – takes about 2-3 minutes. Add the tomato paste and let it cook/roast with the other ingredients for another 2-3 minutes while stirring constantly. Deglaze with the vodka and let it cook away almost completely. Add the veggie broth and heavy cream and stir in. Let the sauce simmer over low heat for about 4-5 minutes.
3. Cook the pasta according to the package instructions – mine took about 13 minutes until al dente. Drain when done. Keep a bit of the pasta water for the sauce.
4. Add the grated Parmesan and butter to the sauce and stir in. Season with salt and pepper to your liking. If the pasta is not done yet, keep the temperature low and cover the pot to keep the sauce warm. When the pasta is ready, add it to the sauce. If the sauce seems too thick, thin it with a bit of the pasta water. Serve the pasta in bowls with some additional grated Parmesan on top. Enjoy!
1. Peel and finely chop the onion and garlic. Provide all other ingredients. Prepare a large pot of salted water for the pasta. You can start cooking the pasta while the sauce is still being made.
2. Heat some olive oil in a large pot or skillet. Add onion, garlic, oregano and chili flakes and heat to medium Sauté for about 2-3 minutes. Add tomato paste and for Let it sweat for about 2-3 minutes. Deglaze everything with vodka – let the alcohol boil down almost completely. Add vegetable broth and cream and stir in. Let the sauce simmer over low heat for about 4-5 minutes.
3. Cook the pasta according to the package instructions – Mine took about 13 minutes to cookuntil they were al dente. Drain the pasta and reserve some of the pasta water for the sauce.
4. Add parmesan and butter to the sauce and stir in. Season with salt and pepper if desired. If the pasta is not yet cooked, turn down the heat, cover the pot with a lid and keep the sauce warm. As soon as the pasta is ready, add it to the pot and mix everything well. If the sauce is too thick, you can thin it with a little pasta water. Serve the pasta in bowls and decorate with grated Parmesan if desired. Bon appetit!
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Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
Description
A simple and easy pasta dish we love to do on weeknights – Pasta alla Vodka. Really delicious and easy to prepare. The flavors are just great!
some olive oil for frying
1 medium red onion, finely chopped
3–4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. chili flakes
4 tbsp. tomato paste
1/4 cup (60ml) of vodka
1/2 cup (120ml) veggie broth
1 cup (240ml) heavy cream
1.8 oz. (50g) Parmesan, grated (plus some more)
1 tbsp. butter
salt, pepper
17.6 oz. (500g) pasta (eg Bombardoni*)
1. Peel and finely chop the onion and garlic. Get all other ingredients ready. Have a large pot with salted water ready for the pasta – you might want to start cooking the pasta while still working on the sauce.
2. Add some olive oil to a Dutch oven or large pan and heat up. Add the onion, garlic, oregano, and chili flakes. Sauté everything over medium-high heat until the onions are soft and glossy – takes about 2-3 minutes. Add the tomato paste and let it cook/roast with the other ingredients for another 2-3 minutes while stirring constantly. Deglaze with the vodka and let it cook away almost completely. Add the veggie broth and heavy cream and stir in. Let the sauce simmer over low heat for about 4-5 minutes.
3. Cook the pasta according to the package instructions – mine took about 13 minutes until al dente. Drain when done. Keep a bit of the pasta water for the sauce.
4. Add the grated Parmesan and butter to the sauce and stir in. Season with salt and pepper to your liking. If the pasta is not done yet, keep the temperature low and cover the pot to keep the sauce warm. When the pasta is ready, add it to the sauce. If the sauce seems too thick, thin it with a bit of the pasta water. Serve the pasta in bowls with some additional grated Parmesan on top. Enjoy!
Notes
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