One of the nicest things about having your kids go away to school is that they develop a much greater appreciation for your cooking after eating residence food. It’s kind of nice when they look forward to dinner and make meal requests.
I recently had my 19-year-old stepson home with me during his university school break. When I asked him for suggestions on what he wanted me to make for dinner the first night home, he immediately asked for this dish. He says he is looking forward to eating the leftovers.
There are conflicting reports on whether the recipe really is Italian or if it’s an Amercian recipe. Reports have it first served at Dante’s in Bologna; others have it created by a Roman chef for a vodka company! Other stories have it created by Luigi Franzese at Orsini’s in New York when he thinned his tomato sauce with a glass of vodka and called it Penne alla Russia.
Whatever the origins, Penne alla Vodka is a great dish to make if you are pushed for time, as the prep is really fast (dice up the onions, mince the garlic and boil some water). To decrease the prep time, you can usually buy cubed pancetta. It is great the next day, but if you have a college student home, you won’t have leftovers for lunch.
Prep time: 5 minutes; Cook time: 30 minutes; Serves: 4 -6 (or just for 1, if you have 19-year-old university student visiting)
What you need:
- 454 g penne rigate, cooked
- 1 can 796 ml (28 oz) crushed tomatoes (or diced tomatoes)
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 190 g spicy pancetta, cubed (this is roughly 4 slices on a deli gauge between 7 & 8; you can get spicy pancetta at most deli counters, or you can use regular pancetta or the pre-cubed packages)
- 1/2 cup Quick Spicy Pepper Garlic Vodka (you can also use plain vodka or try bacon vodka)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- salt, pepper, red pepper flakes to taste
What you do:
- In a deep saucepan, on medium heat, add olive oil and pancetta, cook approximately 5 minutes
- Add minced garlic and onions, cook until soft
- [if you make the dish with plain or bacon vodka, or like things spicier, at this stage I would add 1/2 – 1 tsp of chili pepper flakes to the recipe, stir in the onions and garlic for 1 minute]
- Add vodka, stir to scrape up bits on the bottom of the pan, stir roughly 30 seconds
- Add diced tomatoes, stir cooking 15 minutes
- Add cream, stir, cook 5 minutes
- Add cooked pasta to pot, stir to coat, cook 1 – 2 minutes
- Serve with Parmesan cheese, garnish with parsley, salt, pepper and chili flakes to taste
*crushed tomatoes will result in a smoother sauce, diced tomatoes will give you a chunkier sauce.
