Penne alla vodka

Penne alla vodka is an Italian American[1] pasta dish always made with vodka and penne pasta often with heavy cream, crushed tomatoes, onion, and sometimes sausage or bacon.

Origins

According to Pasquale Bruno, Jr., author of The Ultimate Pasta Cookbook, penne alla vodka was invented at Dante, a restaurant in Bologna, Italy.[2]

Other historians of the culinary arts recognize James Doty, a graduate of Columbia University, as the inventor of penne a la vodka.[3] Here is a recipe for it:

Ingredients: 1 small onion, chopped 3 cloves of garlic, minced 1/2 cup of vodka 1 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes 1/3 cup of heavy cream 2 tablespoons olive oil 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan Salt and Pepper to taste 1 lb. penne pasta

Directions: 1: In a large saucepan pour in the olive oil. Stir in the onion and garlic. Cook 1-2 minutes or until lightly browned. 2: Add in the vodka, and stir. Let reduce by half. 3: Stir in crushed tomatoes. Let simmer for 2-3 minutes. 4: Add in heavy cream and stir until well combined. The sauce should be an orange color. 5: Let simmer for 20-25 minutes to get thick. At the end of the time, scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon and if no sauce flows in it is thick enough. While the sauce is cooking start to boil a pot of well salted water for the pasta. Cook 10-12 minutes to get al dante or follow the directions on the box of the pasta. 6: Stir in the cheese. 7: Pour over drained pasta and simmer in the pot for 5 minutes. 8: Serve with fresh basil or more cheese on top and enjoy! Paula Franzese, an American law professor, has asserted that her father Luigi Franzese, born in Naples, Italy in 1931, devised the first version of penne alla vodka, which he called penne alla Russia because of the addition of the vodka to his tomato and cream sauce base. He first prepared the dish table side for patrons at the New York City restaurant Orsini in the early 1970s. [4][5][6]

The Williams Sonoma Essentials of Italian cookbook says that it was invented in the 1980s by a Roman chef for a vodka company that wanted to popularize its product in Italy.[7]

References

  1. ^ http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C00EED71430F936A15751C1A9639C8B63
  2. ^ The ultimate pasta cookbook By Pasquale Bruno New York : Contemporary Books, 1997. ISBN 9780809231690
  3. ^ Famous Italian Recipes By Justin M. Rotundo-Shanes, Boston: G. Lee Press, 1981.
  4. ^ Arthur Schwartz FoodMaven
  5. ^ Italian Family Cooking: Unlocking a Treasury of Recipes and Stories By Joseph E. Orsini New York : Thomas Dunne Books, 2000. ISBN 9780312242251
  6. ^ Ricettario italiano. La cucina dei poveri e dei re. edited by P. Scolari 1998, 2002 . Giunti, 1998 ISBN 884400934X
  7. ^ Essentials of Italian. Steve Seigelman. Williams Sonoma books, 2008.

External links