Vodka sauce pasta (Penne alla vodka) (Italian-American)

Vodka sauce pasta (or Pasta alla Rusia as it's sometimes called) is a simple and delicious concoction created by the Italian American cuisine sometime around 1970. The idea is simple: adding vodka to a tomato sauce while it cooks leaves you with a smooth sauce that, although it contains no alcohol - it evaporates during cooking - has an "awakened" touch to its flavor. The vodka brings out notes in the taste of tomato that we couldn't otherwise detect so it intermediates a more intense flavor. 
Besides the vodka, the sauce must also contain a bit of cream for a touch of richness. Another trait is that it's almost always done with penne. Enjoy :)

Last year: another kind of bun in the oven :).



Ingredients (serves 2):

• 200 g penne (we used wholemeal penne)
• 200 ml fresh tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• leaves from 1 thyme sprig
• 30-50 ml vodka
• 100 ml liquid cream (30 % fat) (at room temperature)
• salt and freshly ground pepper to taste (we used about 1/2 teaspoon of each)

Boil the pasta according to package instructions. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and add the thyme leaves to it. After 1-2 minutes add the tomato paste:

Stir well. When the tomato paste comes to a boil, add the vodka and continue to cook it, stirring. After 4-5 minutes add the cream:

Mix well and cook for 1-2 minutes more. Add the drained pasta:

Mix well, transfer to serving plates and dig in! :)