Pasta Alla Vodka, or Vodka Rigatoni as it’s commonly known, is one of the most comforting Pasta recipes you can have up your sleeve! It's great for midweek, when you need a warm bowl of pasta to reset the soul, or even when you have friends coming round and want to make them feel instantly at home.
There are many recipes for this gorgeous rich, comforting pasta dish. My favourite however, is one from the founder of restaurant Brutto, one of the best restaurants in London offering traditional Florentine cuisine.
A lot of people ask if you can taste the vodka in vodka sauce? In short, no. Vodka is there to enhance the other flavours of the pasta dish. Think of it like adding a big pinch of salt, it gives the sauce body and lifts the aromas.
Here’s what Russell Norman, late founder of Brutto had to say about discovering Vodka rigatoni…
‘I first had this dish at the cult restaurant Alla Vecchia Bettola on a busy corner by a main road on the outskirts of Oltrarno in Florence. It’s one of those slightly kitsch recipes that was popular in the 1980s and which has been enjoying something of a revival in Italy and even now in New York. Despite the potentially gimmicky nature of the addition of vodka, it works exceptionally well and is a favourite at Brutto. Most supermarket penne is rigate – with ridges. If you can find penne lisce – smaller and without ridges – this makes a much more authentic version of this dish.’
The Ultimate Vodka Rigatoni Recipe
This recipe serves 4...
- 2 × 400g tins of plum tomatoes
- 1 large onion, finely diced
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Flaky sea salt
- 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
- ½ tsp of chilli flakes
- 1 tsp of dried oregano
- 200ml of vodka
- 320g of dried penne
- 4 tbsp of double cream
- 100g of grated parmesan
Method
STEP 1
Drain the tomatoes, reserving the juice for another purpose.
STEP 2
Place a large ovenproof saucepan over a low to medium heat and gently sauté the onion in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil with a pinch of salt for 12-15 minutes until glossy and translucent, being careful not to let the onion brown. Add the garlic, chilli flakes and oregano and combine, stirring for a few more minutes. Pour in the vodka, increase the heat a little to bring to a very gentle bubble, and cook until the liquid has reduced by a third.
STEP 3
Preheat the oven to 140°C.
STEP 4
Now add the drained tomatoes to the saucepan with a good pinch of salt and continue to gently boil for just 1 or 2 minutes, until the oven is ready. Transfer the saucepan to the oven, uncovered, and bake for 30-40 minutes, until the sauce has reduced and has coloured a little on top.
STEP 5
Meanwhile, cook the penne in plenty of salted boiling water. Drain the pasta. Remove the tomatoes from the oven, and add the double cream, sugar and half the parmesan. Using a stick blender, create a smooth sauce. Immediately add the cooked penne and stir until fully combined. Adjust the seasoning if necessary and serve in four warmed bowls, with the remaining parmesan on the table.
This dish pairs really well with red wine, the tomato sauce, and the richness that the cream and vodka bring, makes it perfect for a spicy red wine like Nero d’Avola, which you can purchase in a pack of ready to serve cans, perfect for when you don’t need to open a whole bottle.
Shop the full range of canned wines here. Perfect for when you just need a glass!