Penne ala vodka is one of my all time favorite pasta dishes. But as we all know, it’s not one of the healthiest (or low carb) choices either. If you’ve read my previous blog post (Dairy Free Cooking that Doesn’t Taste Dairy Free), you know that I try to steer clear of dairy as much as I can. So I decided it was time to make a change to one of my favorite dishes to indulge in on a Monday night while watching The Bachelor with a giant glass of red.
If you’ve already jumped down the page to take a look at the recipe, I know what you’re thinking: “pancetta is not going to make me skinny.” I agree. BUT. It really helps give this dish a salty yummy flavor and adds a little crunch as well. But if I haven’t persuaded you enough with that gorgeous picture, feel free to leave the pancetta out and start the recipe by sautéing the onions in olive oil instead of the fat from the crispy pancetta. *sigh*
I like to dice the pancetta into big chunks because a lot of the fat renders off while it’s cooking and you’ll end up with much smaller, crispy pieces in the end. This is simply a texture preference so feel free to dice the pancetta however big or small you’d like, just remember to dice it a little larger than how you’d like it to be in your dish because it will shrink up while cooking!
Personally, I like having larger pieces of pancetta in my dish to add a crunchy bite. I also like to cook it as long as possible (without burning it) to get it as crispy as possible and really render that fat so you don’t end up with a fatty chewy bite (yuck).
Once you cook your pancetta to your desired crispy-ness, remove it from the pan with a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel-lined plate and set aside. Now it’s time to sauté the onions. If your pancetta was very fatty and you feel that there is too much fat leftover in the pan I would pour some of the fat out, leaving enough to sauté the onions in. Once the onions become translucent (about 5 minutes) add in the garlic and cook for one more minute, until the garlic is fragrant. Next add in the red pepper flakes and dried oregano, cooking for one minute, followed by adding in the vodka. While the vodka bubbles away and reduces, you can get your tomatoes ready.
Once again, if you’ve already jumped down the page and peeked at the recipe, you may have noticed that I instructed you to use a sieve to drain the tomatoes. Don’t be alarmed, it’s simply a fancy word for a strainer and I just felt like sounding very intelligent and savvy. If you don’t have a sieve, no biggie, just use whatever strainer you have. To make things easier, I usually drain my tomatoes and then put them back in the can to bring over to the stove for the next step.
Now, this next step tends to get a little messy (I learned this the hard way the first time I made this recipe). Very S L O W L Y and C A R E F U L L Y crush the tomatoes, one by one, into the pan with your hands. I can’t emphasize the slowly and carefully enough, otherwise you will end up with little red tomato spots ALL OVER your kitchen. Trust me, it will save you a lot of clean up in the end. Once you’re done it’s time to add some salt and pepper, put a tight fitting lid on the pan, and place that sucker in the oven for 1 1/2 hours!
It’s time to finally take the pan out of the oven, yay! Let it cool for about 15 minutes or so. You don’t want to start pureeing the sauce immediately because it is very hot (obviously, it just came out of the oven) and can cause the lid of your blender to fly off and get sauce all over your kitchen if you try to puree it too fast while it’s very hot (I’ve also learned this the hard way). To speed this process up, I usually transfer the sauce to the blender right after I take the pan out of the oven and let the sauce cool in there with the lid off. Also, depending on what kind of blender you have/how big of a container it has, it might be easier to puree the sauce in batches. While you’re waiting for the sauce to cool, you can boil a large pot of water and start cooking your pasta. Once your pasta reaches al dente, drain and set aside.
Once you finish pureeing the sauce, return it to the pan over low heat to reheat the sauce. Now it’s time to add the key ingredient that makes this dish dairy free (exciting!).
My personal choice is Trader Joe’s own brand of coconut cream. Tip: after opening the can I like to pour it into a mixing bowl (careful there’s a lot of liquid underneath the thick layer on top), this makes it much easier to mix it all together before adding it to the sauce. I like to start by adding about 3/4 of a cup, continuing to add more (if needed) until my sauce reaches a creamy consistency. I would NOT recommend using the whole can (I’ve never had to) but the coconut cream is very sweet and if you use too much it could throw the flavor of this dish off.
Once your sauce has reached your desired creamy-ness and consistency, add the cooked pancetta back into the sauce as well as the fresh oregano, and salt and pepper to taste. I know you’re probably either drooling or starving at this point, but let the sauce simmer for 10 short minutes to let all the flavors meld together.
See, ten minutes wasn’t so horrible, right? To serve the pasta you can either toss it in the sauce in the pan. Or, I find it easier to just spoon it on top of the pasta in serving bowls. Finally, finish off the pasta with fresh parsley and serve!
Bon appetite, I hope you enjoy this dish as much as I do.
Dairy Free Penne ala Vodka
A dairy free spin on a popular pasta dish. I promise you it still tastes as if it's full of heavy cream and everything bad for you, without the feeling of guilt at the end
Ingredients
- 3/4 lb. (2 inch thick slab) pancetta, diced
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
- 1 cup vodka
- 2 28-ounce cans of peeled plum tomatoes
- Salt
- Pepper
- 1 box penne pasta
- 2 tbsp. fresh oregano, minced
- 3/4 cup coconut cream
- Fresh parsley, minced
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 375°.
2. Heat a large oven proof pan over medium-high heat, add the pancetta and cook until browned and crispy, about 6 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the cooked pancetta to a paper towel-lined plate, leaving the fat in the pan.
3. In the same pan, sauté the onions in the fat until translucent, about 5 minutes. Then add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
4. Add the red pepper flakes and dried oregano and cook for 1 minute.
5. Add the vodka and continue cooking until it reduces by half.
6. Drain the tomatoes through a sieve, then using your hands crush them into the pan. (Squeeze very carefully and slowly so that you don’t get tomato all over your kitchen!)
7. Add 2 tsp. of salt and a pinch of pepper.
8. Cover the pan with a tight fitting lid and transfer to the oven for 1 1/2 hours.
9. Remove the pan from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes.
10. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, add salt and cook the pasta until it is al dente. Drain and set aside.
11. Once the tomato mixture has cooled, place it in a blender and puree until it becomes a smooth consistency.
12. Return the sauce to the pan and reheat over low heat.
13. Start by adding 3/4 cup of coconut cream to the sauce to make the sauce a creamy consistency and add more if needed. Add fresh oregano and cooked pancetta into the sauce.
14. Add salt and pepper to taste then simmer for 10 minutes.
15. Toss the sauce with the pasta and serve with fresh parsley on each plate.
Fries Be4 Guys 