Lotsa Vodka Sauce

SO, I'm back with a new look!  Hope you like it, as well as some new recipes that I will be posting in the future, enjoy!

  My kids all love pasta with vodka sauce, so I make it from scratch.  It's a nice change from  the same old, same old red sauce, because it has a different taste.  I was lucky enough to have everything in the pantry so I didn't have to run to the grocery store or the liquor store.  This is so easy and the sauce is made in one pot.  Recipe below.

Sauteing onion in butter, and some of my other ingredients.  I buy tomato paste that comes in a tube, so I don't have to open a whole can and waste it.  I have tried storing the remainder of the can in the freezer but it always gets lost and I never use it, so the tube paste works great for me.  Just squeeze out the amount you need and put the cap back on! 

 Ahhhh.... the Locatelli cheese and fresh basil from the garden.  The sauce is getting started, a work of art!

 Grated Locatelli and heavy cream and you get a nice rose colored sauce.

 Some linguine, my favorite, topped with vodka sauce and fresh basil.  Dig in!

Pasta With Vodka Sauce

Ingredients

3 tablespoons of butter

1 small sweet onion, diced

3 large cloves of garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes, more if you like heat

1 - 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes

2 tablespoons of tomato paste

1/2 cup of vodka

1 cup of heavy cream

1/2 cup of grated Locatelli cheese

6 big leaves of fresh basil, sliced

1 pound of pasta, your choice

Directions

Start a pot of salted water for the pasta.  When water starts to boil, add pasta and cook to your liking. While you are waiting for the water to boil, melt the butter in a large frying pan over medium - high heat and saute the onion until tender.  Add the garlic and crushed red pepper, cook until fragrant. Add the crushed tomatoes and let simmer for about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and add the tomato paste and vodka. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes. Add the heavy cream and grated cheese, and stir until the cheese is melted. Continue to cook reducing heat to medium -low for about 5 minutes until sauce has thickened. Drain pasta, but reserve about 1 cup of the water to use if sauce is too thick.  Transfer pasta to a large serving bowl.  Top pasta with sauce, grated cheese and sliced basil.  Makes 8 servings.