Homemade Vodka Sauce with Fresh Tomatoes
Homemade Vodka Sauce with Fresh Tomatoes is a delicious, summery take on the popular, creamy pasta dish. Using lots of fresh tomatoes and sweet basil gives it an extra-fresh taste and mouth-watering chunky texture. Plus, it’s a great way to use up extra tomatoes, whatever the type!
Servings: 6 servings
Ingredients
- 4 Tbsp olive oil + more for drizzling at end
- 1½ cups very thinly sliced yellow onion (about 1 medium onion)
- 1 cup chopped fresh basil, divided
- 2 Tbsp chopped garlic (about 4 cloves)
- Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- ¾ cup vodka
- ¼ cup dry white wine, such as Pinot Grigio
- 1½-2 pounds fresh tomatoes, cored and diced (any tomatoes can be used. See Note.)
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 pound pasta + salt for pasta water
- ¾ cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
Instructions
- Prep all ingredients according to specifications above. Put a large pot of water on to boil.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium-low heat. Then add the onions, ¼ cup basil, garlic and crushed red pepper flakes to the pan. Cook until the onions have softened a bit, about 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. You can put a lid over the pan to help quicken this process, if desired.4 Tbsp olive oil, 1½ cups very thinly sliced yellow onion , 1 cup chopped fresh basil,, 2 Tbsp chopped garlic, Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
- Move onion mixture to one side of pot, then add tomato paste and cook it for about 30 seconds. Add the vodka and white wine and stir to loosen and scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pot.*IMPORTANT NOTE*: If you are using a gas stove, I suggest (to be on the safe side) turning off the heat and taking your pan away from the stovetop before adding the vodka. If the alcohol in the vodka comes in contact with the flame at all, a flame will ignite. Once the vodka has been added, return the pan to the stovetop and turn the flame back on.¼ cup tomato paste, ¾ cup vodka, ¼ cup dry white wine,
- Add the tomatoes, salt and black pepper to the pan, increase the heat to medium, and stir well. Cook, uncovered, until this mixture has turned saucy and reduced by about half. This could take anywhere from 10 to 15 minutes or so, depending on how large, juicy and/or meaty the tomatoes that you used are. You may need to help the tomatoes along a bit by smashing them with a potato masher or fork. Stir occasionally.1½-2 pounds fresh tomatoes,, 1 tsp salt, ½ tsp black pepper
- Once the tomatoes have reduced, stir in the cream and simmer, uncovered, for about 5 minutes or until the sauce has thickened a bit more.1 cup heavy cream
- When the water comes to a boil, add salt, then the pasta, stirring frequently. Cook the pasta for 2 minutes less than the package directions, or about 2 minutes before you think it is al dente. Be sure to reserve at least 1 cup of the starchy pasta water. (For timing purposes, ideally, you will add the cream to the sauce and the pasta to the boiling water at the same time.)1 pound pasta
- Transfer the cooked pasta to the pan and toss well, allowing the pasta to finish cooking in the wonderful flavors of the sauce. Add pasta water if more moisture is needed. (You may not need to use any of it.)
- Turn off heat, then mix in Pecorino, remaining ¾ cup basil & an additional drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil. Serve immediately. Buon Appetito!¾ cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
Notes
- Any fresh tomatoes can be used in this sauce, regardless of size, shape or color. This recipe was created with a home garden’s tomato bounty in mind, which is usually comprised of all different types of tomatoes. I used a combination of plum tomatoes and larger slicing tomatoes, which may not seem ideal for tomato sauce but that worked beautifully. The only real wild card is how long you will have to simmer the sauce once the diced fresh tomatoes (and all their juice) are added. If you used larger, slicing tomatoes that are very juicy with a lot of pulp, the sauce will take longer to reduce to the right consistency. Some people may prefer to remove all the seeds and pulp and not add them to the pan. You can definitely do this if you want. I prefer to get as much flavor as possible out of the fresh tomatoes, so I always use the whole fruit (except the core, of course!)
- Use a large pot with 5 to 6 quarts water for 1 pound of pasta. Bring the water to a boil before adding the salt. Use 1½-2 Tbsp salt.
- *IMPORTANT*: If you are using a gas stove, I suggest (to be on the safe side) turning off the heat and taking your pan away from the stovetop before adding the vodka. If the alcohol in the vodka comes in contact with the flame at all, a flame will ignite. Once the vodka has been added, return the pan to the stovetop and turn the flame back on.
- Drizzle the finished dish with some high quality extra-virgin olive oil or, if you would prefer restaurant-style, with some butter for an additional hit of flavor, richness and silkiness.
