Spicy Mezzi Rigatoni Vodka

My spicy rigatoni pasta with vodka sauce is one of my all time favorite recipes. It's a crowd pleaser for any occassion and easy to make. This recipe is super flexible which is great for a beginner cook, which is why I designed this recipe to be for a personal serving.

Ingredients

mezzi rigatoni or pasta of your choice

tomato paste

olive oil

heavy cream

vodka

parmesean cheese

oregano

salt

pepper

red pepper flakes

italian seasonings

garlic

shallots

onion powder

garlic powder

Instructions:

1. Start by bringing a pot of water to a boil, once boiling, generously salt. Salting the water results in a better end product and brings all of the flavors together, especially since this recipe does not include any additional salt

2. Drizzle two tablespoons of olive oil in a pan and bring up to medium heat

3. Sautee two cloves of garlic and one shallot until lightly golden brown (if you don't have these use garlic and onion pwder instead)

4. When the oil is up to temperature, add 1/2 a can or 3 oz of tomato paste and a teaspoon of red peppper flakes and stir for 2-3 minutes or until tomato paste has darkened in color and is sticking to the pan

5. Add about 1/2 cup of vodka and lower heat slightly. Stir into the tomato paste. (I typically stir and wait until most of the liquid has evaporated, you can also smell when most of the vodka has cooked out as it becomes less potent while cooking)

6. Add in about 1-2 cups of heavy cream. I start with one cup and stir until combined and add more as needed. This part is up to your preference! If you enjoy a richer tomato flavor, don't add the second cup of cream and if you don't gradually add more until you have reached the desired flavor

7. Next, add in a teaspoon each of italian seasoning, black pepper, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder

8. Add in a 1/2 cup or more of freshly grated parmesean cheese

9. Cook pasta according to package instructions

10. Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water before draining and add to the sauce when combining the pasta

11. Stir and and optionally garnish with more red pepper flakes and parmsean cheese