Happy 2014 all! I have been on a bit of a break with the holidays,and surprisingly, I hardly cooked while on break. So I’m back with the another pasta dish. This time it’s an easy vodka sauce. Double the recipe and freeze for a very quick meal.
My parents are from Italy, and Italian food such as homemade sauce was a regular thing. So, I cringe when people tell me that they made spaghetti, then begin to tell me they used a sauce from a jar.I think many people over-estimate the work that goes into making sauce. Yes, there are sauces that can cook all day, but there are sauces that can also be made in 25-45 minutes on a weekday. It’s not that I’m a food snob, OK maybe just a tiny food snob, but have you ever looked at the ingredients in a jar of sauce? Ingredients such as artificial meat flavor and other seasonings that have no place in sauce. I think once you’ve made this sauce and see how easy it is, you’ll bypass the jar sauce for the good ingredients.
Serving:4
Ingredients:
1 medium onion diced
3 oz of prosciutto– diced
2 bay leaves
2 garlic cloves minced or passed through a press
1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes ( more or less depending on preference)
1 28oz San Marzano tomatoes can ( if these aren’t available crushed tomatoes will work*) 1/4 c of sauce reserved
kosher salt
1 tbsp tomato paste ( I prefer Amore it’s double concentrated)
5-8 sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, pat excess oil off with paper towel and chop
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1/4 c of vodka ( white wine will work also)
1/4 c of heavy whipping cream
1/4 c chopped basil
1 pound of spaghetti
How it’s done:
On medium heat, melt butter, add prosciutto and onion, pepper flakes, dash of salt and bay leaves. Cook the onions until they are clear, add the garlic, cook about 30 seconds or until fragrant.
Add the sun-dried tomatoes, and tomato paste and cook until the mixture and the pan begin to brown about 3-5 min. It can and will burn quickly if left unattened.
add the vodka, to deglaze the pan, using a spatula scrape the pan getting any brown bits from the pan. Reduce the vodka by half, which should take about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes ( reserve a 1/4 c for later use), if using the San Marzano crush the whole tomatoes with your hands. Reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook the sauce, stirring often. Cook for 20-30 minutes. Fish out the bay leaves and discard.
If you have a submersible blender, blend the sauce until smooth. Otherwise use a stand blender.
Simmer the sauce, add the cream, reserved tomato sauce and stir. Meanwhile boil the water, add salt, add pasta cook until al dente. Once the pasta has cooked reserve 1/2 c of pasta water, use this water to thin out the sauce if it’s too thick, adding 1/4 cup of reserved water at a time. Drain the remaining water, in the same toss the pan pasta with sauce. Add chopped basil, and cheese.
Enjoy! Let me know how it turned out!
* When buying canned tomatoes purchase read the ingredients to make sure there are no other seasoning added to the ca. Many times there will be sugar or preservatives that just make the tomatoes taste a bit off.
Get a room with food 