Cooking with booze can sometimes seem like a technique reserved for the pro's, though depending on the dish it can be far easier than you might think. And in this case, we're talking seven ingredients easy.
Coming direct from the kitchen of Capitano—one of Melbourne's most defining Italian haunts—is their big, bold and boozy vodka pasta. The iconic dish has been served up en masse since they opened in 2018, and now, Executive Chef Casey Wall is offering up an at-home recipe for ultimate culinary cred at your next dinner party. Chef’s notes: head for the top shelf when selecting your vodka.
Ingredients
Pasta And Sauce
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400gm conchiglie or similarly shaped pasta
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750ml (3 cups) basic tomato sauce or sugo of your choice
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250ml (1 cup) pouring cream
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80ml vodka
Onion-Garlic Butter
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100gm of butter
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250gm of onion, thinly sliced
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2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
Method
Step One
For your onion-garlic butter, get started by melting the butter in a saucepan on low heat. Then, add thinly-sliced onion, garlic along with 2 teaspoons of salt. Cover the saucepan and cook while stirring intermittently until it’s soft; this should take around 25 to 30 minutes. Once cooked through, transfer into a blender and puree—handle with caution at this point. Hot butter will spit.
Step Two
Cook your pasta in a saucepan of boiling water, lightly salted, until al dente, which usually takes around 10 to 12 minutes. Drain with a bowl below your siv so that the pasta water is reserved.
Step Three
While your pasta is cooking, combine your tomato sauce or sugo, onion-garlic butter, cream and vodka in a saucepan on high heat to begin then simmer. Stirring occasionally until reduced by one quarter and the sauce is emulsified—this should take 8 to 10 minutes.
Step Four
Mix your pasta into the sauce and add a dash of pasta water if the sauce needs thinning out. Serve immediately and grate some parmesan on top to taste.
Scope out more Urban List recipes here.
Image credit: Capitano