Pasta dishes are easy and delicious, any time of the year.

Penne Alla Vodka is great for company and quick enough to have any time of the week.

With a few pantry ingredients such as penne pasta, canned tomatoes and tomato paste, olive oil and garlic, this wonderful comfort-food dish is perfect. I added pancetta to this recipe, to give another level of richness to the dish.

I hope you enjoy making my penne alla vodka as much as I enjoyed preparing this recipe for you. Simply elegant.

I present to you my easy, fun and delicious penne alla vodka.

Penne Alla Vodka

Ingredients

1 pound of penne pasta, dry

1 20-ounce can of San Marzano tomatoes, whole and peeled

2 tablespoons of tomato paste

1 small onion, finely diced

3 ounces of diced pancetta

½ cup of vodka

1/3 cup of heavy cream

2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil

4 garlic cloves, finely minced

1 teaspoon of dry oregano

½ cup plus more of Parmesan cheese, finely grated

A pinch of chili flakes

Salt and black pepper, to taste

Finely chopped parsley, garnish

In a large saute pan, over medium high heat, add in your diced pancetta. Saute until lightly browned.

Next, add your onions and cook until softened over medium low heat. Once the onions are softened, add your garlic, oregano and chili flakes. Cook the garlic until fragrant. Cooking still over medium low heat, add your tomato paste. Heat the tomato paste for 1-2 minutes, to cook the raw tomato paste flavor out.

Next, take your pan off of the heat. Add in your vodka to deglaze the pan. Place the pan back on medium low heat. Cook the vodka down to about half.

While your vodka is reducing, puree your whole canned tomatoes. Set your pureed tomatoes aside until ready to use.

When your vodka is reduced, add in your pureed tomatoes and stir to combine. Turn the heat down low to simmer. Simmer the sauce for 30 minutes covered, stirring frequently. When your sauce is done cooking, turn the heat off. Slowly mix in your cream and cover until ready to use.

While your sauce is finishing cooking, boil your penne pasta in salted boiling water until all dente. Reserve ½ cup of pasta cooking water when pasta is done cooking. When your ready to finish your dish, add all of your pasta to all of the sauce.

The next thing you want to do is to add your grated Parmesan cheese and some of the pasta cooking water. Mix well and finish the dish with more Parmesan cheese and parley to garnish.

Serve your penne alla vodka with a salad of mixed greens with a nice light dressing, crusty bread and a glass of your favorite wine. I hope you enjoy making this recipe. It’s a simply fantastic pasta dish you will love to make many times.

Sarah Schweitzer is dual-certified in Culinary Arts and Baking & Pastry from the Escoffier School of Culinary Arts (www.escoffier.edu). She is a former line cook for Chef Robert Irvine at “Fresh Kitchen by Robert Irvine” which was located at the Downtown Allentown Market. Sarah is currently working as a Sous-Chef and pastry chef at Ateira’s on First and has her own blog simplysarah.online. She can be reached at sarah.schweitzer18@gmail.com.