Ahhhh, pasta! We eat a decent amount of pasta around here. At least once a week. The thing that I love most about pasta is that it is usually a one pot meal. Serve it with a nice big salad and you have a complete and usually easy, meal.
My husband is a huge sausage lover, and so this recipe made him pretty happy. In fact, he loooved it. Emeril’s recipes are pretty good that way. Looking back, I believe one of the earliest cookbooks that I owned was from Emeril Lagasse. The man can cook! This pasta dish was high on flavor and quick to put on the table. If you like blush sauces, give this one a try. You can definitely substitute chicken or shrimp for the sausage if you’d prefer and it would still be delicious!
Source: Slightly adapted from Emeril Lagasse, Food Network
Pasta with vodka sauce
Ingredients
- 1 lb penne pasta
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 lb Italian sausage , casings removed
- 1 cup chopped onions
- 1.5 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 3 tablespoons minced garlic
- 1.5 cups crushed tomatoes
- 1/2 cup vodka
- 6 tablespoons heavy cream
- 3 tablespoons of fresh basil leaves , chiffonade
- Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
- for garnish
Instructions
- Bring large pot of salted water to a boil.
- Add pasta to water and cook about 6 to 10 minutes until al dente or according to package instructions.
- Drain and return to pot.
- In the meantime, heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat, add sausage, and cook until brown and all pink has disappeared, about 10 minutes.
- Add onions, salt, and red peppers and cook until onions are translucent, about 10 minutes.
- Add the garlic and heat until fragrant, about 3 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes and stir, cook until the sauce thickens, about 4 to 5 minutes.
- Add the vodka and cook until the sauce is reduced 6 to 10 minutes.
- Stir in the cream and heat for 3 or 4 additional minutes.
- Toss immediately with pasta and serve with grated cheese, topped with fresh basil.
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