How To Make Penne Alla Vodka At Home

Penne is one of the most well-known Italian pasta shapes, appreciated both in Italy and around the world. Penne comes from the Italian word "pen" and refers to a short cylinder-shaped pasta with slanted edges. A quill served as inspiration for the design. Penne goes well with almost any sauce, but they're especially good with a thick sauce. Penne Rigate goes well with a variety of sauces, including chunky meat, chunky vegetables, cream, and oil-based sauces. These shapes are also excellent for baking dishes. Although pasta is everyone's favourite irrespective of its shape but penne pasta is something which is the OG and classic pasta that tastes amazing and is pleasing to the eyes as well. Pasta comes in various preparations and can be mixed with any type of sauce, but have you tried Vodka pasta? Yes, that exists. Penne alla vodka is a recipe in which the pasta is cooked with sauce and vodka. It has a strong flavour of vodka which is balanced by all the sauces and spices. It is an easy recipe that uses the usual pasta ingredients with an ounce of vodka.

Here's how you can cook this delicious mouth-watering Penne Alla Vodka at home-

Ingredients

1. Penne pasta
2. Chopped onions
3. Tomato puree
4. Butter/olive oil
5. Finely chopped garlic
6. Diced bell peppers
7. Cheese
8. Oregano
9. Chilli flakes
10. Salt and pepper
11. Pasta Sauce (optional)
12. 2 tablespoons vodka

Directions

1. In a pot pour some water and add the pasta to it. Add some salt to the water and boil the pasta.
2. In a separate pan, heat some butter or olive oil and add the chopped garlic to it. Sautee the garlic till it gets golden in colour.
3. Add the chopped onions, bell peppers and veggies of your choice. Sautee them until they get half cooked. 
4. Remove the pan from the heat and add the tomato puree, vodka, pasta sauce (optional) and seasonings to taste with salt and pepper. Return to medium-high heat and bring to a simmer, then lower to medium-low heat and continue to cook until the strong alcohol smell has gone away. Cook it for about 15-20 minutes and stir occasionally.
5. Add some grated cheese to it and top it up with some more oregano.
6. In the end, add the boiled pasta to the pan and mix the ingredients well. 
7. Top the pasta with some more grated cheese, oregano and chilli flakes.
8. Serve hot with a drink of your choice.

1. When boiling the pasta, add a few drops of olive oil to prevent it from becoming sticky.
2. Always turn off the heat when you add vodka, as the alcohol has a higher chance of catching fire, and the ingredients may sputter a lot.
3. Do not overcook the veggies as they may get soggy later when you add the vodka and tomato puree.
4. If you don't let it simmer long enough to cook out the majority of the alcohol, you'll taste it and the dish will be overpowered.
5. Don't use dried herbs or garlic from a bottle. This vodka sauce is made much better with the addition of these fresh ingredients.