Pasta alla Vodka
This Pasta alla Vodka is perfect for a quick weeknight dinner with an easy and creamy tomato and vodka sauce, topped with bacon and Parmesan cheese
This Pasta alla Vodka is perfect for a quick weeknight dinner with an easy and creamy tomato and vodka sauce, topped with bacon and Parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 cup vodka
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 large onion (chopped)
- 12 oz pasta (i used mini shells)
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg (ground)
- 14 oz tomato puree ((1 can))
- 1 cup half and half (or heavy cream)
- 6 slices bacon (chopped and fried)
- 1 cup parmesan cheese (freshly grated)
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley (for garnish)
- Carbohydrate 0.00265453125 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 0.563309531491223 g
- Fiber 0.00127500003576279 g
- Protein 0.00056296875 g
- Saturated Fat 0.0778228125333081 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (144g)
- Sodium 12.4780850694493 mg
- Sugar 0.00137953121423721 g
- Trans Fat 0.0153679687565325 g
- Calories 48 calories
Step-by-step
- Cook the pasta according to package instructions. Drain in a colander and rinse it under cold water to stop it from cooking any further. Reserve some of the pasta water, just in case we need it to thin out the sauce.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook for 3 to 5 minutes until it softens and becomes translucent.
- Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds until it becomes aromatic.
- Add the vodka, stir and cook for a couple minutes until the almost all of the vodka has cooked down. Stir in the nutmeg, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.
- Add the tomato puree to the skillet, then stir in the half and half or heavy cream. Bring to a boil.
- Stir in the cooked pasta, bacon and the Parmesan cheese. If the sauce is too thick and the pasta has soaked up all the sauce, add some of the reserved pasta water.
- Garnish with parsley and serve.
Vodka acts as a molecular bridge that binds water-soluble tomato compounds and fat-soluble cream compounds into a cohesive emulsion. Understanding this chemical interaction prevents the sauce from breaking when scaling quantities.
Adapting Proportions for Different Yields
Multiplying a recipe linearly does not always work for dairy-heavy sauces. When doubling the batch, increase the half-and-half by only 75 percent rather than the full double amount to prevent a watery consistency. Conversely, halving the ingredients requires reducing the reduction time for the vodka; volatile alcohols evaporate much faster in smaller surface-area pans. Keep the heat at medium-high during the initial onion and garlic phase, sweating the onions for three to five minutes until translucent without browning the aromatics, which introduces bitter notes into the dairy. Stir the tomato puree and cream continuously once combined to maintain thermal equilibrium.
- If the sauce separates due to overheating, whisk in two tablespoons of reserved warm pasta water to re-emulsify the fats.
- Store leftovers in an airtight glass container in the refrigerator for up to three days.
- Reheat gently on the stovetop over low heat with a splash of milk; high microwave heat will curdle the dairy and render the bacon rubbery.
