Photo by Mieke Campbell on Unsplash
The recipe that blew up Instagram and Tik Tok.
Ingredients
1 lb shell pasta + 1 cup starchy cooking liquid (use gluten-free pasta to make the recipe gluten-free)
1/2 cup olive oil
One small red onion, diced (about 1 cup), 1 shallot, and white or yellow onion work, too!
Two cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup tomato paste
2 tbsp vodka See Note 1 for substitutions
1 cup heavy cream
2 tsp red pepper flakes (or to taste)
2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese + more to taste
Sea salt and pepper, to taste
Chopped basil, to taste
Instructions
Cook pasta to al dente according to package instructions. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking liquid before draining (you may not need all this, but I always reserve 1 cup).
While pasta is cooking, add olive oil to a large pan over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add onion. Cook for 2-3 minutes, then add garlic and cook 1 minute more. Stir often so the garlic doesn't burn.
Add tomato paste and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring often. The tomato paste will turn a slightly darker color.
Add vodka (if using) and cook for 1 minute. To make this dish without vodka, omit this step OR use one of the substitutions in the original recipe linked below.
Add heavy cream and red pepper flakes. Cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring often until the sauce thickens (it will thicken up quickly!).
Add in your pasta, 1/2 cup of pasta water and butter. Stir, stir, stir until butter is "melted and saucy.” Make sure the pasta is completely coated in the sauce. Add a little more pasta water if the sauce seems too thick.
Stir in Parmesan cheese. Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed. Sprinkle with basil and serve immediately.
For tips and tricks or how to make this without vodka, visit the original recipe from Get On My Plate.
