Spicy Rigatoni Vodka

There is nothing more comforting to me than a bowl of pasta with vodka sauce. Growing up my mom always made Rigatoni with Vodka sauce for my sleepover parties. I have so many vivid memories of my friends and I sneaking down to the kitchen late at night to sneak a few bites of the leftover cold pasta from the fridge. (Still to this day cold pasta with vodka sauce is sort of a guilty pleasure of mine) In NYC there is a famous restaurant called Carbone, which is frequented by manhattan’s elite. Their “claim to fame” is their Spicy Rigatoni Vodka, but to be honest I have trouble spending $32 on a small dish of this when you can easily execute it at home. I decided to combine my mom’s Rigatoni with Vodka Sauce recipe with some online “copycat” Carbone recipes and BAM! the perfect Vodka sauce was born. This mildy spicy, tangy, and creamy pasta dish is easy enough to make on a weeknight but also impressive enough to serve your guests.

Ingredients

• 1 medium/large yellow onion (has a brownish peel), quartered and then sliced very thin

• 3/4 cup water

• 7 tablespoons unsalted butter

• Salt & pepper

• 28 oz. can of crushed San Marzano tomatoes

• 1 tbsp. salt (more to taste)

• 2 tbsp. sugar

• 3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

• 2 tbsp. Calabrian Chili Paste (I use the Amore brand in the squeezable tube)

• 2 tbsp. vodka (I actually don’t even put the vodka in anymore, I find it’s not necessary but if you want to go ahead! :) )

• 1 3/4 cups heavy cream

• 1 lb mezze rigatoni or pipette

• 1/3 cup shredded Parmegiano reggiano cheese, plus more for garnish

• fresh basil for garnish (optional)

Instructions

1. Make the onion “soubise” heat 4 tablespoons of the butter over low heat in a small saucepan, then add the onions and water and season with a dash of salt and black pepper. Cook for about 20 minutes over low heat, stirring occasionally. The idea is you want to essentially “melt” the onions and let them get super soft and and translucent but you do not want to add any color or browning to them.

2. While the onions are cooking, melt the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter with the olive oil on medium low heat in a medium size pot. Add the crushed tomatoes, 1 tablespoon salt, sugar, Calabrian chili paste, a dash of black pepper, vodka (optional) and cream and simmer for 15 minutes.

3. Add the onion ”soubise” to the sauce and stir until well combined, taste and season with more salt as needed. allow to simmer on low heat stirring occasionally so it doesn’t burn.

4. While the sauce is simmering, boil a large pot of well-salted water and cook the pasta until al dente according to package directions. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water, drain pasta and put the drained pasta back into the hot pot.

5. Add as much sauce as you’d like to the pot of pasta (I used about 75% of the sauce) and place it on very low heat on the stove. Stirring constantly toss it all together to combine and then sprinkle in 1/3 cup Parmegiano Reggiano cheese and 2 tablespoons of the starchy pasta water. Keep tossing until the cheese melts and everything is one cohesive creamy mixture.

6. Pour into a large serving bowl and sprinkle your chopped fresh basil over the top (optional)

7. Serve with an extra sprinkle of Parmegiano Reggiano cheese over the top of you prefer!