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Giada's Pasta Alla Vodka
Category
Main Course
Servings
6
Prep Time
15 minutes
Cook Time
70 minutes
Ingredients
-
1 quart Simple Tomato Sauce (recipe follows, or store-bought marinara sauce, blended until smooth)
- 1 cup vodka
- 2/3 cup heavy cream (at room temperature)
-
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
-
1 pound short pasta, such as penne, rigatoni, or Paccheri
-
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 small onion (chopped)
- 2 cloves garlic (chopped)
- 1 stalk celery (chopped)
- 1 carrot (chopped)
2 32-ounce cans tomatoes, crushed by hand
- 4 to 6 basil leaves
-
2 dried bay leaves
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (optional)
Simple Tomato Sauce:
Instructions
- Simmer the tomato sauce and vodka in a heavy large skillet over low heat until the mixture reduces by 1/4, stirring often, about 20 minutes. Stir the cream into the tomato and vodka sauce. Simmer over low heat until the sauce is heated through. Stir in the Parmesan cheese until melted and well blended.
- Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Drain the pasta and transfer it to the pan with the sauce, and toss to coat.
- For the Simple Tomato Sauce: In a large casserole pot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft and translucent, about 2 minutes. Add celery and carrot and season with salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, basil, and bay leaves and reduce the heat to low. Cover the pot and simmer for 1 hour or until thick. Remove bay leaves and taste for seasoning. If sauce tastes too acidic, add unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, to round out the flavor.
- Pour half the tomato sauce into the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth. Continue with remaining tomato sauce. If not using all the sauce, allow it to cool completely and then pour 1 to 2 cup portions into plastic freezer bags. Freeze for up to 6 months.
Nutrition
Nutrition
- Nutrition Serving Size
- 6
- per serving
- Calories
- 744
Amount/Serving
% Daily Value
- Carbs
- 82 grams
- Protein
- 19 grams
- Fat
- 30 grams
- Saturated Fat
- 9 grams
- Cholesterol
- 35 milligrams
- Sodium
- 548 milligrams
- Fiber
- 9 grams
- Sugar
- 16 grams
11 comments
I must have a drinking problem because I don’t taste the vodka at all. I thought this was a great Friday dinner when I had no inspiration to cook but didn’t want to do takeout. Great pasta is the key.
Followed it exactly, but the alcohol flavor was so overpowering. Next time, I would reduce the vodka to 1/2 cup. Otherwise, it was perfect.
Hi! We recommend cooking the mixture for longer if the vodka flavor is overpowering! You can also add a bit more cream as well!
Hi! We recommend cooking the mixture for longer if the vodka flavor is overpowering! You can also add a bit more cream as well!
The 1/2 cup of oil at the start was just too much. I drained off almost half of that. Other than that, this recipe is spot on! I used rigatoni, with both grated Parmesan and grated Pecorino. :)
I'm afraid 1/2 a cup of oil is a lot of oil for the simple sauce :( I've seen other recipees and they only use 2 spoons , I'm confused
Way too much vodka. I will cut it by half next time. Otherwise, solid recipe.
I followed the recipe exactly.. IT tasted like alcohol. Every recipe I have ever seen said a shot of vodka or 4 table spoons.. A cup seemed a bit extreme
I simmered this for about 20-30 minutes and I can still taste the vodka. Help!
NEVER onions and garlic in a simple sugo!!!!
Great recipe…..made it this evening. Contains quite a bit vodka ….but no alcohol taste to it!!!!