Penne Alla Vodka

I had heard about Penne Alla Vodka long before I decided to give it a shot. Perhaps it was my not so fond memories involving vodka that we won’t really go into detail about here, that prevented me from trying it. But my 21st birthday aside, I gave it a shot recently and fell in love with it. The vodka is not over-powering but compliments the tomatoes, cream and bacon, yes bacon, very nicely.

We’ve all heard it before: everything is better with bacon. Well, maybe not everything, but most things. Take this pasta for instance, I decided to add bacon to this recipe because I love the smoky flavor and the little bit of crunch that it adds to the sauce. With that said, I know that not everyone thinks that everything is better with bacon. If you are vegetarian or (gasp!) don’t like bacon, simply omit the bacon and substitute 1 tablespoon of olive oil for the bacon drippings.

Penne Alla Vodka

Penne pasta with tomatoes, cream, basil, vodka and bacon, it doesn't get much better.

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Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 25 mins

Total Time 35 mins

Course Main Dishes

Cuisine Mediterranean

Servings 4 Servings

Ingredients

  

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Ingredients:

• 5 slices bacon diced into 1 inch pieces
• 1/2 medium yellow onion diced
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1/4 cup vodka
• 1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
• 1 pound dried penne pasta
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 5 basil leaves rolled together and chopped
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
• fresh cracked pepper and kosher salt

Instructions

 

• In a large pan cook bacon over medium heat until browned, about 5 – 7 minutes. Transfer bacon to a plate and set aside.
• Reserve 1 tablespoon of bacon drippings. Add onions, garlic and crushed red pepper to reserved bacon drippings and cook until onions are translucent about 5 minutes. Pour in vodka. Cook 3 minutes. Pour in tomatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and allow to simmer for 20 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• While the sauce is simmering, bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook pasta according to package directions. Drain. Set aside.
• After sauce has simmered for 20 minutes, whisk 1 tablespoon of sauce into cream to temper it. Slowly stir tempered cream into the tomato sauce. Add cooked pasta to the sauce. Stir to combine.
• Return bacon to the pasta and stir in basil and Parmesan cheese. Stir to combine. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper if needed.
• Serve with plenty of grated Parmesan cheese and crushed red peppers.

Notes

Enjoy!

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Keywords: bacon, cream, dried pasta, Food, heavy cream, italian, Pancetta, pasta, pasta sauce, penne, Recipe, vodka