Well my friends, it's a wonder we don't eat this meal every week. I will admit to having plenty on hand in the freezer because it is our go-to for pasta night. We've made this a few different ways in several different stainless steel pans or Le Creuset dishes and I've had successful outcomes every time. Barefoot Contessa never disappoints!
[Everything you see I owe to spaghetti] - Sophia Loren
The key to any recipe lies with your ingredients. There is a reason why America's Test Kitchen spends so much time testing base ingredients to find the winners and the spit that out right now losers. Now, they don't have my preferred brand on their site but I'd follow Ina to the ends of the earth so I went with her choice brand of canned tomatoes #11, San Marzano tomatoes (if you have a moment peruse her good ingredients page, life changing).
The key to a good pasta dish is of course the pasta. We are snobby about a lot of ingredients but we have found a lot of brands make us plenty happy. I have not played with my pasta maker extensively but when we do, amazing (mostly because the "it will take you all day" stigma and I'd rather spend all day making dacquoise). We enjoy this pasta with any type of noodle that will hold on to the sauce. Ruffles. Rontini. Penne. Yum. A nice addition to this recipe is also using a tri-color pasta. The bottom line, this sauce would be wonderful with fresh ravioli, spaghetti and even tortellini. Just make it.
Since this makes such a large portion we tend to serve the pasta in a bowl and add the sauce to our individual servings but when we use this dish while entertaining we mix it all together. We also found that it does best the next day if the pasta and sauce are separate. This sauce also does extremely well in the freezer. Let cool completely and store in the freezer for up to 3 months...we've never been able to wait any longer than 2 months before we have it again so I'm just assuming here.
{Vecchia Bettola "Vodka Sauce"}
Ingredients:
Olive oil
1 med. - lg. onion [Spanish if you can find it or sweet], coarsely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, diced
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper [optional] - this makes this sauce spicy so leave it out if you wish
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
3/4 cup of vodka - Contessa uses 1 cup but I wasn't a fan with the powerful punch of flavor
2 (28oz) cans peeled plum tomatoes - best brand: San Marzano, red, white and green can. See the link above to Barefoot Contessa's good ingredients page for an example.
Coarse salt
Black pepper
3/4 - 1lb of the pasta of your choice
2 Tbsp of fresh oregano finely chopped + 2 Tbsp for serving
1 cup of heavy cream
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese + some shaved pieces for serving. We are huge fans of Pecorino! Just about any will do.
Equipment:
Le Crueset or lg. saute pan [with a tight fitting lid or a decent amount of aluminum foil, I have been successful with both]Blender [I found an emersion blender does not work well in this application]
Various wooden spoons and a spatula
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 deg. F.
Drain your tomatoes through a sieve or colander and set aside.
Swirl olive oil around your pan 2-3 times (about ⅛ cup or less) and heat over medium heat. Add your chopped onion and garlic, simmer for 5 minutes until the onion becomes translucent. Add your red pepper flakes (if using) and dried oregano and cook for another minute. Add the vodka to the pan, scrap up any brown bits and cook until the liquid in the mixture is reduced by about half.
Now! You better be wearing an apron for this next part!
Crush the tomatoes into the pan using your hands [best tools in the kitchen]. Add 2 tsp. of salt and a dash of pepper. Stir to combine and cover the pan with your lid or aluminum foil, make sure you have a tight seal and bake in the oven for 1 ½ hours.
While the sauce is cooking prep you pasta according to the package directions. We prefer al dente in this house but cook the pasta to your liking. Drain and reserve a small amount of pasta water, set aside pasta and water.
Remove the sauce from the oven and you can let it cool or get started right away with blending your mixture. Just remember to leave the top of your blender propped slightly open to allow for the heat to escape during the mixing process. Failure to do so will end with a hot mess. I have an extra insert in my top that I hold partially out of the hole to allow the steam to escape, this way I can work immediately after the mixture comes out of the oven.
Blend the mixture in batches, using your spatula to get all of the tomato goodness out of your pan.
Return your blended mixture back to the pan and begin to reheat and medium-low. Add 2 Tbsp. of the fresh oregano and swirl the ¾ - 1 cup of heavy cream to the pan. Mix together well and add salt and pepper to taste. Simmer covered for another 10 minutes.
Toss the pasta in the reserved pasta water if it has started to dry out if not, skip this step. Add the pasta to your pan and toss evenly with the sauce. Stir in your ½ cup of Parmesan cheese. Try to hold yourself back.
Serve with the remaining fresh oregano and shaved Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!
Preheat oven to 375 deg. F.
Drain your tomatoes through a sieve or colander and set aside.
Swirl olive oil around your pan 2-3 times (about ⅛ cup or less) and heat over medium heat. Add your chopped onion and garlic, simmer for 5 minutes until the onion becomes translucent. Add your red pepper flakes (if using) and dried oregano and cook for another minute. Add the vodka to the pan, scrap up any brown bits and cook until the liquid in the mixture is reduced by about half.
Now! You better be wearing an apron for this next part!
Crush the tomatoes into the pan using your hands [best tools in the kitchen]. Add 2 tsp. of salt and a dash of pepper. Stir to combine and cover the pan with your lid or aluminum foil, make sure you have a tight seal and bake in the oven for 1 ½ hours.
While the sauce is cooking prep you pasta according to the package directions. We prefer al dente in this house but cook the pasta to your liking. Drain and reserve a small amount of pasta water, set aside pasta and water.
Remove the sauce from the oven and you can let it cool or get started right away with blending your mixture. Just remember to leave the top of your blender propped slightly open to allow for the heat to escape during the mixing process. Failure to do so will end with a hot mess. I have an extra insert in my top that I hold partially out of the hole to allow the steam to escape, this way I can work immediately after the mixture comes out of the oven.
Blend the mixture in batches, using your spatula to get all of the tomato goodness out of your pan.
Return your blended mixture back to the pan and begin to reheat and medium-low. Add 2 Tbsp. of the fresh oregano and swirl the ¾ - 1 cup of heavy cream to the pan. Mix together well and add salt and pepper to taste. Simmer covered for another 10 minutes.
Toss the pasta in the reserved pasta water if it has started to dry out if not, skip this step. Add the pasta to your pan and toss evenly with the sauce. Stir in your ½ cup of Parmesan cheese. Try to hold yourself back.
Serve with the remaining fresh oregano and shaved Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!
No comments:
Post a Comment