KEIFERS VODKA SAUCE RECIPE
THE RED SAUCE:
6 lb Ripe, San Marzano tomatoes, I use a 6lb can from Costo (pre peeled), sub in Romas if you cant get the San Marzanos
I can tell you that the San Marzano will be FAR BETTER than regular plum types.
3 tbspn Extra Virgin olive oil
1 Red onion; thinly sliced
1 small Rosemary branch, remove the leaves and chopped
1 small Bay leaf (pull before Ala Vodka processing)
1 small fresh thyme branch, remove the leaves and chopped
1 (2 small leaves chopped) Sweet Basil
The setup for the imported canned ie: pre peeled
Warm the olive oil in a large pan; add the tomatoes, onion, rosemary, bay, thyme and basil, I add a pinch of fresh ground black pepper. Cook over gentle heat until the tomatoes break down to a puree blend. Salt to taste (I use a just a little sea salt). You can pass them through a food mill or blend/mash them smooth, however sometimes I leave it a bit chunky. Check the consistency; if you wish a thicker sauce, return it to the pan and cook over medium-low heat until it is reduced a bit and at the thickness you like.
This is for tomatoes with skins:
Warm the olive oil in a large pan; add the tomatoes, onion, rosemary, bay, thyme and basil, I add a pinch of fresh ground black pepper.Cook over gentle heat until the skins are wrinkled and have really cooked away from the flesh, usually about 30 minutes. Remove the skins, The tomatoes should be melting into a puree by then. You can pass them through a food mill or blend/mash them smooth, however sometimes I leave it a bit chunky. Check the consistency; if you wish a thicker sauce, return it to the pan and cook over medium-low heat until it is reduced a bit and at the thickness you like. Add salt to taste
Makes about 1 Quart, you may not need all of it so Freezing or Canning the rest is good thing to do so you have some tasty red sauce ready and quick for anything in the future.
1 quart of red sauce as above
1 cup vodka (nothing too fancy but I like the fowl named or the red S label)
1/2 cup heavy cream, at room temperature (IMPORTANT ITS NOT COLD)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan (not the powdered stuff ) be sure have more on hand as some like me love it to be a bit thicker and cheesier as well as to add on top as many like as well
1 pound penne
Using a large heavy SKILLET (non stick works best, I have a deep 15” to fit all this without splashing all over) Simmer the tomato sauce and vodka over low heat, stirring often, until the mixture reduces by 1/4, usually takes about 20 minutes. Slowly stir the cream into the tomato and vodka sauce. Even at room temp if you go too fast it will bring the temperature down quickly so GO SLOW. Continue to simmer over low heat until the sauce is heated through. SLOWLY stir in the Parmesan cheese until melted and well blended. DO NOT JUST TOSS IT ALL IN AT ONCE!!! As with the Cream you do this a little at a time as to not overwhelm the sauce and cool it down, it also promotes better melting and distribution of the cheese and flavors. At this point it should be nice and light orange colored. I stir to mix all the flavors and make sure everything is all HOT AGAIN.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Drain the pasta and transfer it to the pan with the sauce, and toss to coat. I like to keep a little bit of the water and add some to the sauce, not much just a bit to thin the sauce back a bit since I like it thick to start with and it adds the starches you removed from the pasta while boiling. Careful how much you add as you don’t want to make it all runny. I let this all to a simmer once again for at most 2 minutes while gently continuing to toss/stir/fold with a large wooden spoon. This will make it all hot and steamy, don’t do this too long as the pasta will overcook and get loose and mushy. Remove from heat and let REST with a good lid or cover plate etc. This will allow it to cool a bit and reconstitute the liquids that were just boiling. This step is VERY IMPORTANT, as with any cooked to steamy hot meal it allows the flavors to infuse themselves back into the food. (have you ever had dry turkey, usually its not over cooked, just not allowed to stand and let the steamed juices return to liquid and get absorbed back into the meat, hence the big PUDDLE of liquid in the bottom of the pan) just quickly cover it and let it rest.
After resting for a few minutes, YOUR DONE, ENJOY!!
