Description

Winner, winner, penne dinner. This sauce is so much better than store bought sauce. Serve it as part of your meal rotation or as a special night dinner.

Ingredients

• 3 T. unsalted butter
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 3 medium cloves garlic, minced
• pinch red pepper flakes
• Kosher salt
• 4 1/2 oz. tube concentrated tomato paste or 6 oz. can tomato paste
• 14 1/2 oz. can good quality, whole peeled tomatoes with their liquid
• 1 c. heavy cream
• 1 lb. short tubular pasta, like penne (or rigatoni)
• 1/4 c. vodka, plus more, if desired
• 2 oz. freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus more for serving

Steps

1. In a large 3 or 4 quart saucepan, melt butter over medium heat; add onions, garlic, salt, and red pepper flakes; cook, stirring frequently, until onions are very soft but not browned, about 15 minutes; lower heat as needed to prevent browning.
2. Add tomato paste; cook, stirring, until tomato paste is fragrant and thick, about 3 minutes. Stir in canned tomatoes with their liquid; bring to a simmer; cook, stirring often and crushing the whole tomatoes roughly, until sauce has thickened slightly, about 10 minutes.
3. Add cream; stir. Transfer sauce to a blender; blend until very smooth. (An immersion blender may be used, but try to avoid splattering.) Wipe out pot; return blended sauce to the pot. Season lightly with salt.