Penne is among the most popular pasta varieties out there. Its tubular shape allows it to capture various sauces with ease. It's also easy to stab with a fork, meaning that even tiny hands can eat it with ease. Your family likely enjoys penne on a regular basis, but this recipe is a new way to do it.
The most common use for penne outside of eating it on its own is for a ziti recipe. You'd be hard-pressed to find a ziti recipe that doesn't use penne. This recipe, however, has a different purpose in mind for penne. We'll be pairing it with a creamy vodka sauce.
Since penne is so good at capturing sauce, it will work great in this dish. You won't need too many ingredients to make this recipe. For the vodka, buy cheaper vodka to help your wallet. You won't be drinking it, so it doesn't need to be anything extravagant.
Of course, that doesn't mean you should skimp on the quality. Try to find a vodka that balances affordability with quality. Aside from the vodka, you'll need tomato sauce, heavy cream, cheese, salt, and pepper. You can't get much simpler than that!
Penne with Creamy Vodka Sauce
Ingredients:
12 ounces penne or any tube-shaped pasta
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
¼ cup vodka
½ cup heavy cream
¼ cup grated pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese
Salt and ground black pepper for taste
Directions:
1. Cook the penne according to the package directions, drain and keep warm.
2. Combine the tomato sauce and vodka in a large saucepan over medium heat.
3. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes.
4. Decrease the heat to low and stir in the cream.
5. Simmer for 1 minute to heat through.
6. Add the cooked penne and the cheese and cook for 1 minute to heat through.
7. Remove from the heat and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
The image featured at the top of this post is ©EzumeImages/ via Getty Images.