Pasta alla Vodka

Ingredients

• 12 ounces pasta (I used mini shells)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large onion (chopped)
• 3 cloves garlic (minced)
• ½ cup vodka
• ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg (ground)
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• salt and pepper (to taste)
• 14 ounces tomato puree (1 can, sub with tomato sauce or tomato passata)
• 1 cup half and half (or heavy cream)
• 6 slices bacon (chopped and fried)
• 1 cup Parmesan cheese (freshly grated)
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley (for garnish)

Instructions 

• Cook the pasta according to package instructions. Drain in a colander and rinse it under cold water to stop it from cooking any further. Reserve some of the pasta water, just in case we need it to thin out the sauce.
• Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook for 3 to 5 minutes until it softens and becomes translucent.
• Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds until it becomes aromatic.
• Add the vodka, stir and cook for a couple minutes until the almost all of the vodka has cooked down. Stir in the nutmeg, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.
• Add the tomato puree to the skillet, then stir in the half and half or heavy cream. Bring to a boil.
• Stir in the cooked pasta, bacon and the Parmesan cheese. If the sauce is too thick and the pasta has soaked up all the sauce, add some of the reserved pasta water.
• Garnish with parsley and serve.

Video

Notes

1. Half and half is equal parts whole milk and light cream and it usually averages 10 to 12% fat, which is usually less than light cream. 
2. Salt the water generously. Don’t be afraid to salt your pasta cooking water well. Dry pasta is bland and salting the water is how you can season the noodles as they cook.
3. Let the vodka cook down. You must give the vodka time to reduce to almost nothing before adding the other sauce ingredients. Not doing so will result in a sauce that tastes like vodka. 
4. Reserve cooking water. Make sure to reserve 1 cup of pasta cooking water to thin out the sauce if needed. It can also be used for reheating any leftovers too by adding some moisture to the pasta and keeping it flavorful.
5. Leftovers: Store leftovers in an airtight container for 3 to 5 days in the refrigerator. You can also freeze this in an airtight container for up to 2 months.