You don't quite taste the Vodka in this dish - I know, it sounds all intriguing and exotic - so if you've got a burning curiosity about this, like I did, grab a bottle of vodka, a jar of tomato passata, and make this dish. What the Vodka does here, is to enhance the flavour of umami-rich tomatoes, like a silent supporter behind the scenes. Something definitely does happen here as this tastes different from your usual (non-meat forward) tomato sauce. I've added the Vodka twice in this recipe - once at the start of the cooking process, once towards the end. If you want a stronger Vodka flavour, perhaps pour yourself a glass to go wtih? Ball of Burrata completely optional.
Ingredients
6 cloves of garlic, sliced
1 onion or large shallot, minced
40g bacon or cured meat, cubed (optional, I just threw it in cause I had some)
1 Tablespoon tomato paste
700g tomato passata (see notes)
120ml Vodka
220g dried pasta of choice
120g creme fraiche
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons fish sauce
1 ball of burrata (optional, to serve)
pinch of chilli flakes (To taste)
salt (To taste)
good glug of extra virgin olive oil
Parmgiano Reggiano (to taste)
Directions
Add a good glug extra virgin olive oil into a large saucepan. Over low heat, you wanna slowly render the fat out of your bacon or guanciale or pancetta (if using, if not, skin this step). Once they're lightly golden, push them to the side of the pan.
Add in your onions and garlic. You wanna sweat your aromatics, allowing them to cook down and soften, without browning. This should take 5 to 6 minutes. Add in your chili flakes, and tomato paste. Let the tomato paste cook out a little, about a minute or so.
Over high heat, tip in half (60ml) your vodka, allowing it to bubble and evaporate.
Then go in with your tomato passata, sugar, and fish sauce. Allow to simmer covered, for 10 minutes. Stir in your creme fraiche. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Add more chili flakes if desired too.
While that's going on, cook up your pasta 3 minutes less than your package instructs you to do so. Remember to salt your pasta cooking liquid generously as well. And reserve a good amount of the starchy cooking liquid before you drain it all down the sink. You know the drill.
To finish the pasta, crank the heat on your saucepan of sauce to medium-high. Once it's boiling again, add the rest of your vodka, tip in your pasta, and about 100ml of the pasta cooking liquid. As it finishes cooking here, pasta and sauce will soon become one. Hahahaha. The goal is to have the sauce envelope and grip onto your pasta ridges so each bite gets that flavourful coating of Vodka Sauce. Add more starchy pasta water if you feel the sauce is getting too dry or anytime you want a looser consistency. Go slow. Add it bit by bit.
Your pasta is done when it's cooked al dente, and the sauce drapes each strand of noodle. Turn the heat off and grate in a good amount of parm.
To Plate, pile your pasta onto a large platter. Place a ball of burrata in the centre (optional), then drizzle with some Extra Virgin Olive Oil. To finish, some flakey sea salt, cracked black pepper, more grated parmigiano, and an extra pinch of chili flakes. Burst the ball of burrata and enjoy!
Notes
Tomato Passata is just puréed and strained tomato sauce that usually comes in jars or cans. Alternatively, you could also blend and strain your own. Whyyy though :b
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