Penne alla Vodka
-1 cup of smoked ham or turkey breast in 1cm cubes
-1 finely chopped onion
-1/2 cup of vodka
-5 tablespoons of Tomato paste
-5 tablespoons of Double cream
-1/2 cup of Chopped parsley
-Salt & Pepper to taste
-Parmiggiano or Grana Padano
-Olive oil
-1/2 pound of radiatori pasta.
In a saucepan (medium heat), sauté the onions and the ham until they get brown (about 3 minutes). Pour the vodka and turn the fire on high until the vodka catches on fire. Another option is to carefully ignite the vodka with a stove lighter, or simply don't ignite the vodka if you don't want to. When the fire is done, add the tomato paste and one cup of water, let cook for another 3 minutes on medium heat and then add the cream and the parsley. When the pasta is cooked, turn the fire on maximum and mix the pasta in with the sauce. If the sauce is too thick, you can always add small spoons of the water that cooked the pasta.
If you can’t find the pasta shape radiatori, you can use penne or another short pasta.
This recipe serves four as a primo dish or two as a main dish.
