Pasta alla vodka

 

I've seen recipes for this dish for years but had never tried it but was intrigued, There are a few differences in the recipes I've seen so I more or less did my own thing with what I thought would work and it was very popular and tasty. 

Using the vodka is supposed to make the sauce smooth but I think you could leave it out if you don't drink alcohol. Some of the versions don't have any pancetta in so it could easily be made vegetarian or even vegan if use a vegan cream there are some very good products out there now. 

Pasta alla vodka 

1 tbsp oil

1 onion (chopped)

2 cloves garlic (crushed)

1/4 tsp chili flakes

100g diced pancetta or bacon

2 tbsp tomato puree

400g can finely chopped tomatoes

50ml vodka

100ml cream

grated parmesan 

200g pasta of choice 

Heat the oil over a medium heat in a large frying pan, Add the chopped onion and pancetta and fry for a few minutes until the onion is softened and the pancetta cooked.  Add the garlic and chili flakes and cook for another minute or so then put in the tomato puree and stir around for a few minutes and then pour in the vodka and stir well.  Add the tin of tomatoes and simmer the sauce for about ten minutes on a lowish heat. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the cream and taste if it needs seasoning as the pancetta can be salty so better to season near the end of cooking.

While the sauce is simmering cook your pasta according to the packet instructions and drain but save some of the pasta water (I leave a cup in the sink to remind me to save some).

Add the cooked pasta to the sauce and combine both and add a few tablespoons of the reserved pasta water and mix well to make the sauce smooth add a little more water if it looks a bit dry.

Sprinkle over the parmesan and serve. 

serves 2-3