summer vodka sauce
hi friends, lovers + people probably related to me —
80 — i went to bed before 10pm every night this week. it was honestly great.
not about vodka on the rocks only about vodka sauce v.2
so molly baz wrote a recipe a couple weeks ago that was for a summer gin sauce so then i wanted to make it obviously. but realized i had no gin only vodka. stars they’re just like us. my og vodka sauce recipe is here — but for the foreseeable future (the rest of tomato szn) stick to this one.
ingredients for the sauce
olive oil
6 cloves of garlic
1 shallot
vodka
double concentrated tomato paste
heavy cream
2 pints of lil baby tomatoes
salt + pepper
hot italian sausage
long thick noods (bucatini, mafaldine, fettuccini)
basil
ingredients for the whipped ricotta
heavy cream
parmesan
whole milk ricotta
salt + pepper
ingredients for the crispy crunchies
panko
olive oil
parmesan
salt + pepper
steps
1st in a large heavy bottom pot or dutch oven crisp up your hot italian sausage, once cooked drain the fat + set the sausage aside. in the same pot drizzle a healthy glug of olive oil, drop 6 cloves of grated garlic, 1 finely chopped shallot, a big pinch of red pepper flakes, salt + pepper and a few tablespoons of double concentrated tomato paste. once combined + v. fragrant add in 1/4 cup of vodka and the italian sausage. while the vodka cooks off — cut all your lil baby tomatoes in half + add them to the pot with more salt + pepper. smushing them down occasionally with the back half of your spoon they explode.
2nd make the crispy crunchies - toast panko breadcrumbs in a skillet with olive oil, garlic, salt + pepper - when almost toasted add parmesan and stir to make little clusters - take off the heat and sprinkle with flaky salt
3rd whip the ricotta - combine the whole milk ricotta, some parm, enough salt + pepper to make you feel something in a food processor.
4th in a large pot boil some heavily salted water. taste the sauce, explode more tomatoes, add a lil more salt + then stir in some cream. once the water is boiling drop your thick noods (i used mafaldine, which i found @ the pete’s in wheaton, it was an emotional experience, ask molly). once al dente — drain your noods, reserving a cup or so of the water. add the noods to the sauce gently combining them, with a lil of the liquid gold to thin it out.
5th in a large shallow bowl make a pile of noods, add some dollops of whipped ricotta, lots of crispy crunchies + a shit ton of basil + some more parm for good measure. this is perfect for twirling + also perfect for a quiet sunday dinner. goes well with a dry white wine with lots of ice — be the suburban mom of your dreams.
particularly good things i consumed recently
new migraine cure : 1 medium coke from mcdonalds, 8 advil + some cheez its
a lil wine happy hour catchup w/ audrey @ printers row — thank you for showing me a v. cute close(ish) to the loop spot!
four peaches eaten directly over the sink, the juices running down my wrist — peak summer moment #4
normal family + cult classic — been reading like i’m going to get a pizza party for my class, that aside both of these are v. good
outside voices for $6 happy hour lambrusco + then pizza lobo bc i wanted their new fried mozzarella for dinner — it’s delicious, plz also get a side of the aioli to dip the spicy lil peps in
okay so maybe i’m going to buy myself 2 birthday presents. still eying this. & i don’t even want to talk about the everlane sale. someone plz talk me into needing a persimmon colored cashmere sweater dress, a slime green purse + a white tie front cool girl sweater
a perfect saturday morning: 2hr long bike ride, short run, spinning j breakfast sandwich, a lil yoga + a v. long hot shower
currently consuming
a cranberry orange scone + a lil iced coffee on the road
as always,
mk