If I had to choose a last meal, this would be in the top five for sure. It's my go-to dish when I visit family or perfect for a quiet, holiday meal at home.
All the credit for this dish goes to Claire Saffitz and Molly Baz (YouTube, Bon Appetit).
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion
- 6 garlic cloves
- 8 oz. Parmesan cheese
- 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 4.5-oz. tube double-concentrated tomato paste
- 1 14.5oz can of crushed tomatoes
- ½ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 oz. vodka
- ¾ cup heavy cream or half & half
- 1 lb. rigatoni
- 8 oz. fresh mozzarella, sliced (for oven topping)
- Basil leaves
To prepare: dice the onion small, press or mince the garlic, and shred some fresh parm. I like to pour the vodka in a small glass and prepare a measuring cup (for the cream, for later).
Fill a big stockpot with water and dump a handful of salt in there. Add a little more than you think you're supposed to add.
Once the water is started, put a dutch oven or large skillet over medium high heat and add the oil. Sauté the onions for about 10 minutes until translucent. Add the garlic and sauté for a few more minutes. At this point you can season with salt & pepper. Once the onions and garlic start to brown a little bit, move on to the next step.
Now squirt all the tomato paste into the pan and stir it around for 5-10 minutes until combined. The goal is to dry it out and super-caramelize the onions and tomatoes until it's sweet. You wanna cook down & reduce the paste until it's almost brown. It will look ugly but that's okay.
Add the vodka to deglaze and keep stirring for a few minutes; it will evaporate pretty quickly. I prefer Tito's or Chopin potato vodka. Be sure to taste the vodka while you're cooking for a more immersive experience.
Drop the pasta into the boiling water. Continue to slowly cook the sauce while the pasta boils.
After the vodka evaporates, add the crushed tomatoes and jam it even more for 5-10 minutes until it reduces.
When the pasta is about 3 minutes away from being done, grab a measuring cup and scoop out ¼ cup of the hot, starchy pasta water. Pour the ¾ cup of cream into that hot water to warm it up; this "tempering" prevents the cream from breaking when it hits the tomato jam.
At this point, turn the heat down to medium-low and slowly add the diluted cream mixture to your sauce. Add a little at a time, stirring as you go. If you want it even creamier, add an extra splash (we're not going for healthy here!). Let the sauce and pasta finish those last few minutes together so the flavors marry perfectly.
Cook the pasta al dente (because it's gonna cook a little more in the sauce). 2-3 minutes before it's supposed to be done, scoop out 1 cup of starchy pasta water and set aside. Drain the pasta or spider it straight into the sauce mixture.
Stir the pasta with the tomato mixture and add ¼ cup of water and a handful of parm at a time and watch it thicken up even more. You can go overboard on the parm.
At this point you're drooling and ready to eat. Plate or bowl the pasta and top with more parm and freshly torn basil (shoutout to Gotham Greens).
Baked Variation
If you want to jazz it up even more, transfer to a casserole dish and top with sliced mozzarella. Bake at 375° for 15 min covered, then uncovered for 15 min until the cheese is melted and bubbly. If you do this, make the pasta even more al dente.