“Vodka sauce is wonderful. Pairing it with penne is classier, but rigatoni is more subversive.”
— Chef Joe Bianco

High Spirits

There are more ways to make vodka sauce than there are galaxies in the sky. Just read the glorious online promises from bloggers and writers exalting their recipes with “best ever” or “perfect way.” Other recipes are peppered with “simple trick” or “transformative” and even “positively magical.” Penne alla Vodka is one of the most popular pasta dishes in the United States, but there is a huge difference between making a plate of pasta in a controlled recipe kitchen and making sixty pasta plates an hour in the hot chaos of a real restaurant. It is in this frenetic insanity where the restaurant chef shines, because their only concern is the sauce, the pasta and the dish. This is where vodka sauce gets personal. 

Shaken, not stirred

The history of vodka sauce is as complex as the flavor itself and shaky at best. One claim is from James Doty, a Columbia University graduate student. Dante Restaurant in Bologna, Italy, is proud to say that their chef invented the dish, but there is a Roman chef that says he invented Penne alla Vodka to popularize vodka in Italy where wine is king. Others say it was an invention by Italian American chef Luigi Franzese of Orsini restaurant in New York. Whatever you believe, the combination of pasta, tomatoes, cream, cheese and vodka is genius. This explains why it is the fourth most popular pasta dish in America according to Taste Atlas.  

Smirnoff the Makeup

Many pasta aficionados say that the addition of vodka both elevates the tomato flavor and makes the sauce creamier. Vodka, like other distilled spirits, enhances the release of fruity esters and other aromas at low percentages because the alcohol molecules have a slightly sweet taste and a pungent hotness. As the alcohol is cooked off in the sauce, the sweetness of the tomatoes is enhanced while the bitterness of the boozy alcohol taste disappears, leaving only a nuanced touch of heat.

On the flip side of this, famous author and teacher James Peterson says in his James Beard Award-winning Book Sauces: “Vodka is useless in sauce making because it is a completely neutral-tasting product.”

Vodka sauce is a distant cousin to Sauce Aurore, which means sunrise in French and was a specialty of Chef Giovanni de Negris at La Primavera restaurant in Chicago. He paired his tomato puree with a thick béchamel and a medley of vegetables and proteins. It can also be made with tomato puree and sauce velouté (or a sauce supreme). 

Expand your Vodkabulary

Let’s get down and dirty and muddle through the many ways that chefs put their individual flavor branding upon vodka cream sauce. 

• Penne vs. Rigatoni: Both tube-shaped pastas are used in restaurants. Some say that penne cooks better in a sauté pan by keeping its shape under high heat. Others say that rigatoni holds the sauce and cheese better, allowing the eater more flavorful punch per forkful.
• Many cooks demand only fresh tomatoes in vodka sauce, while others say that canned tomatoes are just as good and allow for consistency on the pasta line. Whole San Marzano tomatoes are sometimes used, but I prefer the plum tomatoes from California for their sweetness and dense flesh. You can run either type of whole tomatoes through a food mill or just break them apart with their hands for a chunkier sauce.
• Numerous recipes call for both butter and olive oil while sautéing diced onions. A trick from the old timers in Italy is to always put the onions in the pan before the fats heat up. This ensures a better amalgamation of the allium flavor base as the onions heat up. 
• Many recipes call for a smoky fat start like pancetta, bacon or even prosciutto di Parma. Added before the onions to give more flavor pleasure to carnivores. Others, like me, add Prosciutto di Parma cracklings to add extra crunchy and meaty texture to each forkful. 
• Some people like to add two or three smashed garlic cloves to the sautéing onions for that extra burst of flavor while others, like Chef Joe Bianco, swears by putting a whole large sprig of basil immediately after adding the vodka to the sauce. 
• Add a touch of excitement by throwing in a pinch of red pepper flakes while sautéing.
• Many restaurants cook the penne very al dente or partially cooked and do not rinse the pasta, ensuring that the starches add more creaminess to the sauce. They then add the pasta to the heated sauce, then pasta water and cook the pasta for an extended period in the sauce, followed by the Parmigiano or Romano cheeses only after the heat has been turned off. 
• Some old Italian chefs have a secret of tossing grated Parmigiano or Romano directly on just-cooked pasta before adding the heated sauce. This ensures that each pasta piece is coated with cheese.

Absolute Flavor

Many see vodka as a good partner for other foods. Here are some flavors that pair well with vodka: sugar, lemon and lime juice, green olives, beef consommé, apples, ginger, horseradish, cucumber, beet, caraway, celery, carrot juice, pineapple, cilantro, berries, black pepper, oats, melon, mango and vanilla.

Here are a few dishes that show the flexibility of a good vodka cream sauce:

• Paglia e Fieno with Prawns and Vodka
• Veal Agnolotti with Gorgonzola Vodka sauce
• Penne alla Vodka with Spinach and Chicken
• Farfelle with Pancetta and Vodka Cream
• Linguine with Lobster Vodka sauce
• Vodka Creamed Chicken Wings
• Shrimp Cannelloni with Vodka Basil sauce

Rigatoni with Vodka Sauce and Prosciutto di Parma Cracklings

This is probably the best pasta I’ve ever made. This version takes shape with the little nuggets and tips from my years in kitchens and talking to chefs. Adding pasta water to the sauce rewards you with a wonderfully luscious sauce and the small chunks of tomato flesh really pop around the cream sauce and crispy Prosciutto.

Get the Rigatoni with Vodka Sauce and Prosciutto di Parma Cracklings Recipe.