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Oh, For the Love of Pasta! You need to eat this dish on the double! Nothing beats a homemade, creamy vodka sauce on top of your favorite tender pasta! Well, unless it also comes topped with sharp cheese and tangy ricotta. And guess what? For the Love of Pasta does! So, stop hesitating and start celebrating how much you love pasta night!
Oh, For the Love of Pasta! You need to eat this dish on the double! Nothing beats a homemade, creamy vodka sauce on top of your favorite tender pasta! Well, unless it also comes topped with sharp cheese and tangy ricotta. And guess what? For the Love of Pasta does! So, stop hesitating and start celebrating how much you love pasta night!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 slices thick-cut bacon coarsely chopped
- 1 1/2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 4 large cloves garlic peeled and crushed
- 1 medium yellow onion finely chopped
- kosher salt to taste
- ground black pepper to taste
- 5 tablespoons tomato paste preferably double-concentrated
- 3/4 cup vodka
- 1 (16-ounce) box fusilli can substitute penne or rigatoni
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup Pecorino Romano or parmesan cheese finely grated, divided
- 1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
- basil optional, to taste, finely chopped, for garnish
Directions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
- In a large, high-sided skillet over medium-high heat, add the oil.
- Add the bacon and cook, while stirring occasionally, until the bacon is crispy at the edges, about 5 minutes.
- Leave 3 tablespoons of the bacon drippings in the skillet, and then reserve the remainder in a measuring cup.
- Reduce the heat to medium.
- Place the skillet with the bacon pieces and the 3 tablespoons of bacon drippings over medium heat.
- Add the red pepper flakes, the oregano, and the garlic to the skillet and cook, while stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Add the onions, the salt, and the pepper and stir to combine.
- Increase the heat to medium-high and cook the onion mixture, while stirring, until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. If the onions start to look dry, add the extra reserved bacon drippings, as needed.
- Add the tomato paste to the skillet and cook, while stirring constantly, until it darkens in color, about 3 minutes.
- Turn off the heat.
- Add the vodka and stir to combine.
- In the pot with the salted, boiling water, add the pasta and cook until 2 minutes shy of al dente, according to the package directions.
- Place the skillet with the vodka sauce mixture over high heat and cook, while stirring constantly, until it is reduced by 3/4, about 2 minutes.
- Add the heavy cream and bring the sauce mixture to a simmer.
- Transfer the skillet from the heat.
- Reserve 2 cups of the pasta water and drain the remaining pasta water.
- Add the pasta, 1 cup of the pasta water, and all but 2 tablespoons of the Pecorino Romano to the sauce mixture and reduce the heat to medium-high.
- Cook, while stirring vigorously and moving the pan back and forth, until the sauce coats the pasta in nice gloss, about 5-7 minutes. If the pasta seems too dry, add the remaining pasta water, as needed.
- Remove and discard the garlic cloves.
- Taste the sauce and season it with more of the salt and more of the pepper, as needed.
- Divide the pasta mixture between serving plates.
- Top each serving plate evenly with the remaining Pecorino Romano.
- Dollop each of the pasta mixtures with about 3 tablespoons of the ricotta.
- Serve garnished with the basil.
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