Angel Hair Pasta with Spicy Vodka Sauce Recipe
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Pasta topped with a sauce that’s part vodka sauce and part arrabbiata—in other words, a tomatoey sauce with a kick.
This recipe was featured as part of both our Tomatoes! and Easy Weeknight Dinners recipe slideshows.
INGREDIENTS
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 8 medium garlic cloves, sliced paper thin
- 4 medium shallots, halved lengthwise and sliced paper thin
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 8 fresh oregano sprigs
- 2 small dried red chiles, crumbled
- 1 1/4 cups vodka
- 3 pounds grape or pear tomatoes
- 1 pound capellini or angel hair pasta
INSTRUCTIONS
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the garlic and shallots, season with salt and pepper, and cook until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Add the oregano and chiles and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat, carefully add the vodka, scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan, and stir to incorporate. Return the saucepan to the stove, reduce the heat to medium, and add the tomatoes. Cook, stirring rarely, until the tomatoes begin to collapse and let off juice, about 40 minutes. Break up some of the tomatoes with the back of a spoon, leaving some whole. Remove the sauce from the heat and discard the oregano sprigs.
- Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook it according to the package directions. Drain the pasta, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking water. Return the pasta to the pot and toss it with the tomato sauce and reserved cooking water until it’s well coated. Season with additional salt and pepper if necessary and serve.
I don't drink, and so will likely never make this; I was going to ask if anyone had a theory as to what the vodka might be for, but I see that some of you actually do- I'd be interested to hear from anyone to did try it if it actually does extract any noticeable flavor (I don't like that terminology- the tomato is still there, so if the vodka had a positive effect on the flavor it would be to somehow make it more available to the palate).
I will say that for good, fresh tomatoes that is an awfully long cooking time.
KenWritez is right (hehe). Tomatoes have some alcohol-soluble flavors so the vodka will help extract them. I don't see any difference in adding vodka after the tomatoes since the tomatoes are whole and not liquidy so will therefore not affect the flash point of the vodka. Just make sure you pour in the vodka OFF-HEAT, keep a lid nearby, and don't lean over the pot!
Thanks aidam and KW. I'm all for vodka -- I've studied Russian for 10 years and thus it's somewhat unavoidable!
corileigh: I'm no Mark Bittman, but I'd say the recipe calls for vodka because a) it's neutral tasting , it doesn't have a lot of flavor on its own as gin or wine would, and, b) some flavor compounds are soluble only in alcohol, so vodka can bring out some flavors you'd otherwise miss.
thanks for the advice. we've changed the recipe for safety. enjoy!
Good advice, but a little late for me!! Nearly burned down the house when I poured in the vodka a tad too fast. Lesson learned, still turned out fine (the local whole foods had yellow and red grape tomatoes!). Left out the spice factor since I was cooking for sensitive palates and the SO was recovering from a stomach bug.
A question on the science of cooking with vodka...can anyone give a general explanation on the hows and whys?
Hear, hear gailms. You are soooo correct about the dangers of a flame up. Once alcohol gets to its flash point, it will ingnite instantly. I get squeamish using 1/4 cup of brandy for flaming crepes or mushrooms let alone using over a cup of 80 proof. Please, all Hounds, have the corresponding lid at hand to extinguish a sudden flame fest - especially those using an open gas flame. I also support the idea of incorporating tomatoes and adding vodka little by little for safety reasons.
CP
This sounds delicious but you should be careful when adding vodka to the oil & garlic mixture. It could easily flame up.
How would it be if you added the tomatoes first? Then add vodka and reduce a little
I cut back a bit on garlic, red peppers (I used crushed) and shallot. Even though I like spice, I was afraid the sauce was too hot when I tasted it while pasta was cooking. So I added a dollop (1.5T?) of low-fat sour cream. Either it worked, or it wasn't too spicy beforehand, but it came out perfectly, and I would make it exactly the same way again. Not too hot, and the sour cream was great for the texture.