Creamy, savory, and with a subtle kick - penne with tomato vodka sauce is a delightful midweek dish that effortlessly combines simplicity and sophistication. In less than half an hour, you can have this flavorful pasta on the table, perfect for busy days. The rich tomato sauce gains extra depth from a splash of vodka, intensifying the flavors. Feta and Kalamata olives add a Mediterranean twist, while garlic and paprika lend a warm, spiced undertone.
Penne with tomato vodka sauce
Ingredients
- 800 grams diced tomatoes 2 cans
- 450 grams Penne
- 200 grams feta
- 200 grams Kalamata olives
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 teaspoons paprika powder
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 onion
- 1 dl vodka
- pepper
Instructions
Some preparations
- Remove the hard skin of the onion and then cut it into small pieces.
- Crush the garlic. Remove the skin and finely chop the garlic cloves.
- Cut or crumble the feta into small cubes. Keep some aside for the finishing touch.
- Halve the Kalamata olives. Keep some aside for the finishing touch.
Making the tomato vodka sauce
- Heat the olive oil in a pan. Then fry the onion and garlic in it for a minute.
- Now deglaze this with the vodka and let it reduce on a high heat.
- Next add the chopped tomatoes and bring the sauce to the boil on a medium heat.
- Add the pieces of feta cheese and let them melt away.
- Now add the paprika powder and the Kalamata olives.
- Keep the sauce warm until the penne is ready. Season further with pepper if desired.
Cook the penne and finish the dish
- In the meantime, you can cook the penne until al dente. Drain the penne and mix it with the sauce. Let the ingredients integrate well.
- Arrange the penne in tomato vodka sauce in deep plates. Finish with the remaining feta and Kalamata olives. Possibly a sprig of parsley.
Nutrition
How to prepare this penne with tomato vodka sauce?
This vegetarian midweek dish is ready in under half an hour-perfect after a busy workday.
A few preparations
As usual, we start with a bit of chopping. First up is the onion: remove the ends and tough outer skin, halve it, and dice it into small cubes.
Next, we do the same with the garlic cloves. First, crush them with the flat of a knife to break the structure-this makes the skin easy to peel off. Then finely chop the cloves.
Slice the Kalamata olives in half lengthwise. Most will go into the tomato sauce, but set a few aside for finishing the dish later.
Lastly, chop the feta cheese into small cubes. Like the olives, most will go into the sauce, but keep a bit aside for garnish.
Making the tomato vodka sauce
Now we're ready to make the sauce - but first, bring a pot of water to a boil for the penne. While the pasta cooks, we'll prepare the tomato vodka sauce.
In a large (wok) pan, heat olive oil and sauté the onion and garlic until fragrant - after about a minute.
That's your cue for the next step: de-glaze the pan with the vodka and let it boil off over high heat for a few minutes.
Once the vodka has almost evaporated, add the diced tomatoes to the pan. As the mixture comes to a simmer, season it with black pepper and paprika. The paprika also helps keep the sauce a vibrant red, as the feta will soften the color.
Once the tomato sauce is heated through, stir in the cubed feta. Because it's chopped finely, it melts fairly quickly, adding creaminess to the sauce. Feta is also naturally salty, so there's no need to add extra salt.
Finally, toss in the Kalamata olives - just warm them through. Now lower the heat to keep the sauce warm until you're ready to serve.
Cooking the penne & finishing the dish
By now, the penne should be nearly al dente. Once cooked, drain it well.
Toss the pasta into the tomato vodka sauce and stir to fully combine and allow the flavors to integrate.
Scoop the pasta into deep plates or bowls, then top each serving with the reserved feta and olives. Optionally, garnish with a sprig of fresh parsley for a final touch of color and freshness.
Everything you always wanted to know about vodka
Most of you will know that vodka is distilled from potatoes. This is partially true. In fact it is a mixture of fermented cereal grains and potatoes. And it has its origins in the Slavic and Nordic European countries.
But there are two countries really claiming the origins of vodka. And these are Poland and Russia. the debate in itself may already be explosive.
The first written documentation of vodka in official Russian documents goes back to the year 1751. The first written documentation of "wodka" in Poland goes back to the year 1405. Based on that you would give an advantage to Poland. Although most people will associate vodka in the first place with Russia.
And did you notice that I wrote Polish wodka with "w"? That is also a remarkable difference: Polish wodka is written with a "w". Russian vodka on the contrary with a "v". In Dutch for example, we also write wodka, like the Polish version.
And maybe I can spend here also some words about the origins of the recipe. Basically I found it in a cookbook with recipes that only need 6 ingredients. But I was not convinced of the version in the cookbook. They added half a liter (!) of vodka to the sauce. I am not sure about that... First of all this adds seriously to the cost of the recipe. And it takes of course much longer for the alcohol to evaporate and the sauce to reduce. And then the tomatoes are really pulped. So I guess this must be an error. I only took 1 dl of vodka, and I think this is more than enough.
More surprising.Italian
Making delicious recipes with only a few ingredients. That is typical for Italian kitchen. And of course with also have a lot of recipes with only a few ingredients but with surprising results. Maybe you will also be interested in the following recipes:
- Linguine alla puttanesca.
- Sicilian tuna pasta with fried capers.
- Vegetarian gnocchi with yellow bell pepper.
- Delicious seafood fricassee.
- Vegetarian red lentil Bolognese.
If you speak Dutch, you can find the Dutch version of this recipe on gerechtenweb.blog.
toondebacker says
A surprising midweek treat with a kick.