Penne with Vodka Sauce

1. Boil Water

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, using just enough water to cover the pasta by 1-2 inches. This will save you some time waiting for the water to boil and will also ensure that you have plenty of starch in the pasta water to help hold your emulsion (which is what makes restaurant pasta so good!). Add about two teaspoons of salt per quart of water, right before you're going to use it, as you don't want the water to reduce and become too salty. Once boiling, turn the heat to low and place a lid on the pot until you're ready to cook the pasta.

2. Sweat Aromatics

In a separate pan over medium heat, sweat the onion and sliced garlic in olive oil until softened and translucent.

3. Caramelize Paste

Stir in Calabrian chili and tomato paste to the pan and cook for a few minutes to lightly caramelize the paste.

4. Deglaze

Deglaze the pan with vodka, stirring until any caramelized paste has released from the bottom of the pan and the liquid has evaporated. Vodka is important in this recipe as tomatoes have alcohol soluble flavors that otherwise would not be developed.

5. Add Cream

Add the cream and stir to combine. Reduce the sauce by about 25%.

6. Blend

Using an immersion blender, blend the sauce until smooth. Take care while blending as the sauce is hot and may splatter. It may be easier to transfer the sauce into a taller, narrower container for blending, before adding the sauce back to the pan. Alternatively, you could use a standard blender.

7. Cook Pasta

Cook the pasta in the boiling water for about 30 seconds to a minute less than the box recommends. Reserve a cup of pasta water and drain the pasta.

8. Sauce Pasta

Add the drained pasta to the pan with the sauce along with a 1/4 cup of pasta water. Toss everything together, cooking the pasta the rest of the way in the sauce while also reducing and emulsifying the sauce. The consistency of the sauce should be thick enough that each piece of pasta is coated, while not so thick that it clumps tightly together.

9. Finishing Ingredients

Remove your pan from the heat and add the grated cheese, tossing and mixing until the cheese melts and the sauce is smooth. If the sauce is too thick, thin it out with a splash of pasta water. Taste for seasoning and adjust with salt if needed. Plate and serve.