Homemade Penne a la Vodka
I participated in Mom Blog Tour Winter Fancy Food Show (#MomBlogTourFF) on behalf of Wendy’s Bloggers. I received Academia Barilla and Bialetti products to facilitate my review, but my opinions and the recipe are my own.
One of the very first meals I made for my new husband almost a dozen years ago was spaghetti. You may have heard the story already. But if not, I will tell it again. I was so nervous, I got very flustered and poured a whole jar of sauce into a boiling pot of spaghetti water and made a huge mess. We laugh about it now, but at the time boy was I upset!
When I was in San Francisco this past January for the Winter Fancy Food Show as part of Mom Blog Tour, I had the chance to talk to one of my favorite pasta brands – Academia Barilla. I cannot believe after all of these years since I first cooked that pot of spaghetti, I was making pasta wrong! Thanks to Academia Barilla’s Chef Lorenzo, I finally learned the secrets to enjoying delicious pasta every time.
- For 1 Liter of water, you need 7% salt. So when cooking 1 box of Academia Barilla pasta, add 2 tablespoons of sea salt to every 1 gallon of water.
- Chef Lorenzo also told us you should always make your sauce first, so that your pasta does not stick together.
This information has been life changing for me. I cannot believe that I never knew these simple tips!
Academia Barilla is made in Italy with sustainable wheat. Barilla lives and works by the mantra “good for you and good for the planet” and since 2010 they have worked to lower the amount of water they use by 19%. Because of the bronzed dye that they use to create the pasta and it’s high gluten and protein content, Academia Barilla’s pastas are very similar to that of homemade pasta, it really can stand up to the sauce you use.
I am really excited to share a recipe that goes perfectly with Academia Barilla’s Penne Rigate Pasta — Penne a la Vodka.
What a I learned years ago, about right after I had my first kitchen mishap, is that to make good food, you really need good cookware! I wonder now how I created anything before Bialetti products entered by kitchen!
Check out this ingenius Bialetti Pasta Pot! I have been seeing them at my local supermarket recently, so I hope when you see them too you pick one up for yourself or for a gift!
The oval design of the Bialetti Pasta Pot is to allow you to fit up to one pound of spaghetti to fit without any of the spaghetti sticking out! Of course, I can think of so many other things to cook in it — lobster, potatoes to name a couple.
Bialetti is an iconic name, with 9 out of 10 households in Italy owning Bialetti’s iconic “Moka Express” stovetop coffee maker.
Let’s get started making our sauce!
Homemade Penne a la Vodka
Ingredients
- 1 package Academia Barilla pasta cooked per package instructions
- 24 oz plum tomatoes
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 clove of garlic minced
- 1/4 cup vodka
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2 tbsp butter
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp Italian seasonings
- Parmesan cheese and parsley for garnish
Instructions
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Add tomatoes and their liquid to a food processor or blender.
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In Bialetti Mineral DS Saute pan, add olive oil and saute garlic until it is golden brown.
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Add pureed tomatoes to pan.
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Season with salt and pepper.
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Let simmer for 3-4 minutes.
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Stir in vodka and let sauce simmer on low for about 10 minutes.
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Add in butter and stir.
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Pour in heavy cream, stir.
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Serve over Penne Pasta, garnish with parsley and cheese.
The Bialetti Mineral DS saute pans were perfect for this Penne a la Vodka recipe thanks their anodized surface and micro-divot texture. This makes the pans a very durable non-stick, evenly distributing oil, searing foo better. They are oven and metal-utensil safe, PFOA-free and can be used on any cooktop surface!
This recipe looks good and easy too, Im going to try this for my family!
I’ve only tried vodka sauce once and that it was too overpowering. I’d like to try it again hoping for better results.
This Penne a la Vodka recipe looks absolutely delicious. And it’s easy enough even I could make it without screwing it up! I don’t add salt to my boiling water before adding the pasta, instead I add a tablespoon of coconut oil which keeps the pasta from sticking together.
This sounds delicious! I have never made this, but love creamy pasta dishes.
My family is really big on Pasta especially my husband. My sister and I love splitting vodka pasta when we go out or order in. It’s the best and everywhere you go is different. The taste is DELISH!
This looks like a good recipe to try for a dinner here.
The recipe looks and sounds good! I would’ve never thought to make a vodka sauce, but it is something worth trying
I would make this recipe with the Academia Barilla pasta and Bialetti cookware. Even if I don’t have the cookware I’m still going to make it
There is nothing like a nice simple pasta meal, oh yes!
I will be making your Vodka Sauce this weekend. I did not even try Vodka Sauce until 2 years ago when my oldest daughter ordered at a restaurant. I love it.
Loving this recipe love to try this looking good
I would make angel hair pasta with eggplant and tomatoes.
I think logically I knew I should make my sauce first but haven’t made it a habit and it definitely results in my pasta sticking together. This penne looks delicious.
I know this recipe my whole family would enjoy! I love the sauce!
This recipe sounds absolutely fantastic. It’s definitely something that I would try.
This seems like a wonderful recipe! I like home-made foods a lot more than canned. I’ll have to keep this recipe to make my own sauce. Thanks!
This sounds good and pretty easy. I love a homemade sauce. Never tried to make a vodka sauce but I can follow a recipe and the pictures show how it should look. It looks tasty.
This looks fabulous. I would love to try it for my family.
We are big fans of pasta at our house (especially my daughters and I). I’ve been looking for some new options so I’m not always making the same sauce time after time. I just made a Bolognese sauce earlier this week and it was delicious. I’d definitely like to try your penne a la vodka recipe. As for the pot, I LOVE it! I hate dirtying up dishes, pots, etc. when I don’t have to. I used a large strainer to drain my pasta the other day. And, I used it again last night to drain potatoes for mashed potatoes (the lid on my Dutch oven is just too hard to keep in place to use it to cover the pot while I tip and drain it). Not to mention it’s such a pretty pot!
This is a wonderful idea.Thanks
This looks delicious and I promise you I’m gonna try it????????????????
I’ve never tried Penne a la Vodka. I have heard of vodka sauces but I rarely have any around, so I would have to buy a bottle just for the sauce. It always seems like a waste…maybe I need to find one of those little bitty airline sized bottles, lol. The recipe does sound good.
I would make penne rigate with pesto sauce.
OH my!! This looks AMAZING!! I love that your pan has the strainer built right into the top!! Genius!! I love not having to dirty so many dishes!! That sauce looks seriously divine!
This recipe sounds wonderful. I’d love to try it.
You had me at vodka.
This looks delicious. I know my family would enjoy
I have never try vodka sauce before. This recipe sounds good and I am going to try making it
this really looks so tasty. I like the vodka concept to make it more special and add a little zing to the sauce.
This looks delightful! I will have to make this soon!
This recipe sounds incredible! I’ve never cooked with vodka before, but my husband and I enjoy cooking with lots of different wines. I’m a big pasta lover, so this Penne a la Vodka is defintely going on the list of recipes to try soon! Thanks for sharing!
I would use it to make homemade mac and cheese.
I would make Eggplant Gnocchi — Gnocchetti di Melanzane.
We don’t keep alcohol at home or I’d definitely try making your Homemade Penne a la Vodka.
Sounds good and not hard to make.
I would make spaghetti bolognese.
I would like to make Pasta Primavera.
Penne a la Vodka recipe
Spaghetti with bratwurst, it really good.
This recipe looks really good, I will have to give it a try sometime.
I want to make this. Looks so good!
I will make spaghetti.
I cannot wait to try this with my mom, yummy! Thank you so much!!
I would make some alfredo
I will make a big pot of pasta with homemade marinara sauce.
The vodka sauce looks easy and delicious-I will definitely make it!
This looks delicious. I never knew vodka sauce was so easy to make.
I’ve never had this kind of sauce before and it sounds and looks amazing. I know my family would love it.
If I won, I would make my Hot Sausage Pasta dinner using the new cookware.
It look like a great recipe to try out. I will pin it to try it thanks
I would make some good pasta salad.
The recipe looks and sounds good! I would’ve never thought to make a vodka sauce, but it is something worth trying
I loved your story about pouring the sauce into the water. My Mom told me when she was forst married she tried cooking the pasta in the sauce. Thank God she switched to frozen food for my childhood. I am probably so tainted from all of the artifical ingredients. This recipe looks good and healthy.
I like making pasta and adding pesto, chicken and broccoli. I then top in with parm cheese.
I would make Spaghetti alla puttanesca! It’s my favorite. This looks great too, definitely on my to-make list.
This looks amazing! I love pasta dishes 🙂
I’ve always put salt in my water before cooking pasta, but now i’m hearing it can damage your pots?
Chef Lorenzo was very adamant about adding the salt to our Bialetti pots.
I’d love to make some eggplant parmegiana!
This looks delicious & I know my whole family would enjoy it! I’m making it soon!
This sounds delicious. I pinned it so I can find it easily next time I am in the mood! Thank you!
I’m not a fan of heavy sauces so this is a recipe I’ll definitely try! I have had vodka sauce while dining out and I enjoyed the dish.
I’d love to use this to try the vodka sauce recipe – I’ve had it in restaurants but never made at home!
I would make chicken and broccoli alfredo…one of my family’s favourite meals. Thanks so much for the giveaway!
What a handy pot this is and I love the fact that it drains off as much or as little water as needed while still housing the pasta choice inside. I think I’d make the BARILLA® WHOLE GRAIN THIN SPAGHETTI WITH CHERRY TOMATOES & FRESH SWEET PEPPERS from the great recipe found on the Barilla website. My husband went through colon cancer surgery and dr instructions to eat alot of whole grain pasta with fresh dark green vegetables so that recipe sounds ideal to create. Thank you for a great review to learn about their many pasta choices for cooking and that neat cookware to create them with. Your recipe looks so tasty to try.
This looks like a crazy good recipe!
That Penne Vodka looks great. I have a wonderful Fettuccine Alfredo recipe I got from a restaurant. I would start with that. Great prize! Thanks for the chance to win it.
Oh I know how you feel I made lasagna for the first time when I got married and man did I mess up. I love the tips about the salt I had learned that years ago with my MOm. I love this recipe sounds so amazing and I cannot wait to give it a try!
I would make this recipe and see what I could substitute for the vodka (even though it is named Penne a la Vodka).
I too would make a big Italian dinner but with spaghetti and meatballs !
This recipe looks delicious and I’d love to try it.
I would make my homemade sauce and meatballs
Spaghetti is my families favorite so I would make that.
This looks so delicious I printed off the recipe to make for a later date.
It looks good. We may have to try this recipe out. Thank you for sharing.
One of my favorite pasta dishes, thanks for the recipe!
That looks so yummy! Great pasta dish!
I would make some penne alfredo in this!
i would make a pasta with heavy whipping cream,mushrooms and seasoning and chicken
I LOVE Vodka sauce. This looks delicious!
I would make spaghetti.
I would make cajun spiced chicken alfredo with linguine.
Definitely our spaghetti and meatballs recipe!
This looks and sounds very good. I also like how easy it would be to put together. This wold be excellent with a slice of hot homemade bread.
I’ve never tried a sauce with vodka included, but the recipe overall sounds quite good! Your photo is making me want to try this now!! Looks yummy 🙂
The recipe sounds so good. Thanks.
I am obsessed with Italian food, especially pasta!! I have never made a homemade vodka sauce before, I bet it tastes amazing! Thank you so much for sharing your recipe!
I love all food made with vodka!
Will give this recipe a try
we would make buccatini with bolognese sauce. omg so good!! i love that cookware!
Thanks for the recipe.live searched for one for awhile..ever since Ina Garten show featuring her dining out and ordering this Italian deliciousness!
Barilla pasta is great , and one brand I purchase frequently as is Bialetti brand.
I don’t have a pasta pot and would love one!
So Many meal ideas come true mind.
We love love seafood.
I think the first thing I’d love to make would be my creamy seafood pasta pot with peas and asparagus..delicious!
My family loves all things pasta! I like this recipe a lot because fresh, plum tomatoes are used, should really make the flavors pop!
I would make penne with white sauce.
We love pasta, I want to try the penne with your recipe. It looks so good. Thanks for sharing!
I would like to make this recipe.
My sister makes this great chicken/garlic sun dried tomato pasta dish- a copy cat dish from a restaurant where she used to work. It’s a fave!
I love the look of this- looks easy to do with a high pay off in the tasty department.
This is a great side dish to make for a Sunday dinner.
I would make a penne pasta salad with red onions,bell peppers and cherry tomatoes!