Pasta with Vodka Sauce

Vodka sauce is a great sauce for pasta. The tomatoes are fairly sweet and bright, the cream helps with smoothness, and the addition of a little bit of vodka helps add a little bit of heat and bite to help balance out the sauce.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup shallots, finely minced
• 3 medium garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1 28-oz can whole tomatoes
• 1/3 cup vodka
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• Salt

Directions

1. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat.
2. Add the shallots and cook in the butter until lightly browned, about 5 minutes.
3. Stir in the garlic, tomato paste, and crushed red pepper. Cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
4. Turn off the heat. Stir in the tomatoes and vodka.
5. Turn the heat back on medium. Simmer until the alcohol is mostly cooked off, about 10 minutes. While it's simmering, break up the tomatoes as much as you can. The tomatoes will be easier to break up as it continues to simmer.
6. Optional: if you want a smooth sauce, you can blend the sauce in a blender at this point. I kind of like a chunkier sauce, so I often skip this.
7. Add the heavy cream and cook until the sauce is warmed through, about 2 minutes, then remove from heat. Season with salt to taste.
   • Make sure to only heat the sauce until it's hot and steaming, but don't actually simmer it. Since there's cream in it, you don't want the cream to curdle.
8. Put your cooked pasta in the sauce, toss to coat, and serve.