Smoked Chilli and Vodka Rigatoni
If you have a bottle of vodka, a tube of tomato purée (tomato paste) and some cream, you’re very close to creating a plate of pasta akin to pure bliss. This is the sort of meal you want to eat after one too many glasses of wine. It’s carby, creamy and super spicy.
The sauce is greater than the sum of its parts and comes together in the time it takes to boil the pasta. The classic combination of garlic and onion is the root of many sauces, but here they’re finely grated to add a base note to the intensity of the sweet tomato purée and richness of the cream.
The vodka mellows any hint of acidity to create a real star of a sauce. The best part though is the smoked chilli – just a teaspoon shifts this to the sort of dish you want to cook 5 nights a week and continuously crave.
250g dried rigatoni
15g unsalted butter
1⁄2 white onion, finely grated
a pinch of sea salt, plus extra to cook the pasta
4 garlic cloves, finely grated
3 tbsp tomato purée
1 tsp smoked dried chilli flakes
75ml vodka
100ml double cream
1 handful of basil leaves, finely sliced, plus extra leaves to serve
1 handful of freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra to serve
Cook the rigatoni in a big pot of boiling salted water following the packet instructions.
While the pasta is cooking, melt the butter in a deep sauté pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and sauté with a pinch of salt for about 5 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, then add the tomato purée and smoked chilli flakes. Turn the heat down a little, stir and cook gently for 2 minutes.
As the tomato paste caramelises and starts to darken in colour and stick to the bottom, pour in the vodka and stir to deglaze the pan. Let the vodka cook off and reduce before stirring in the cream. The sauce should be smooth, creamy and deep orange in colour. Stir in the basil and Parmesan.
Drain the rigatoni, reserving 4 tablespoons of the pasta cooking water. Add the pasta and cooking water to the sauce and toss to combine. Serve the pasta topped with extra basil leaves and grated Parmesan or, for a total delight, a ball of burrata. Eat immediately and enjoy.
