Vodka Rigatoni

by Bob Sassone, Posted May 18th 2007 @ 1:06PM

I'm a big fan of pasta. I like the flexibility and options you have with it. I used to make this dish I liked to call "Rigatoni Sassone" (it's great when a food you love rhymes with your name). It was basically rigatoni mixed with various vegetables and then tossed with parmesan and cheddar cheese, served with rosemary and olive oil bread. It was cheap and easy, but I haven't had it in a while.

I thought of that after seeing this recipe on AOL Food (from allrecipes.com). I'm not a fan of vodka, though I guess it won't make that much of an impact, right?

Vodka Rigatoni

1/4 pound chopped prosciutto
2 cups heavy cream
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 fluid ounce vodka
1 (7 ounce) jar roasted red peppers
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoons white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 pound rigatoni pasta
1/4 cup green peas

Drain roasted peppers, reserving a small amount of the liquid. Cut peppers into strips. Combine prosciutto, cream, crushed tomatoes, vodka, roasted peppers with reserved liquid, parsley, garlic powder, sugar, salt and black pepper, and crushed red pepper in a saucepan. Cover. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the sauce comes to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, and transfer to a large serving bowl.

Stir cheese into the sauce. Stir sauce into rigatoni ,and top with peas.

Filed Under: Drink Recipes
Tags: allrecipes.com, aol food, crushed red pepper, green peas, parmesan cheese, ParmesanCheese, pasta, pasta recipe, prosciutto, roasted red pepper, spaghetti, tomatoes, vodka, vodka rigatoni

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

5-18-2007 @2:46PM Dmnkly said... The vodka absolutely can make a difference, but not the way this recipe has it. If you add it early, it's totally pointless. If you add a little bit to a sauce just a minute or two before it's done, however, you do get a funky little tang that's rather nice.

Incidentally, while the vodka/tomato/cream sauces are readily available Italy (though not as heavily creamy and cheesey... and certainly not with jarred peppers and garlic powder... emphasis on ugh.), they're a relatively recent addition to the pantheon... the thirties, maybe? I'm not certain about the timing. But when vodka makers were trying to make inroads into grappa territory, they held promotional contests for local restauranteurs to devise Italian dishes using vodka. Somebody came up with the tomato/cream/vodka combination, and it caught on.
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5-18-2007 @2:56PM Dmnkly said... Sorry for the PS post, but I need to save you from this recipe, Bob. This is awful.

The concept's fine, but I'd strongly recommend the following:

Skip the peppers. Use maybe 1/4 cup of cream (you may need to cut back on the salt), and add it 3-4 minutes before the sauce is done. Add the vodka just a minute or two before the sauce is done.
Skip the sugar. And for the love of god, man, use real garlic.

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5-18-2007 @3:00PM Dmnkly said... Oh... and start with the garlic in some olive oil, and cut way back on the cheese, too.

This is just a different recipe.

Sorry, I'm done now :-)
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5-18-2007 @3:59PM Alex said... Well the Alcohol brings out flavor compounds in the tomatoes that only can be expressed in the presence of alcohol.
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5-18-2007 @4:06PM Gobo said... What Alex said. The vodka has no flavor of its own at all here -- vodka sauce doesn't have any hint of vodka flavor, unless of course you use some funky flavored vodka, I suppose.

What it does is activate flavor compounds that alcohol (vodka, wine, etc) 'turn on' in tomatoes.
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